Street-preaching Grinch tells children 'Santa is fake' outside Amarillo elementary school

Alex Driggars, Amarillo Globe-News
·2 min read
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David Grisham, dressed as the Grinch, stands outside of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School with a sign telling children "SANTA IS FAKE" on Monday in Amarillo.
David Grisham, dressed as the Grinch, stands outside of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School with a sign telling children "SANTA IS FAKE" on Monday in Amarillo.

Editor's note: This story contains potentially offensive language.

An unwelcome visitor caused a stir by taunting children while dressed as the Grinch during drop-off Monday morning at Sleepy Hollow Elementary.

Photos circulating on social media appear to show an Amarillo man, identified as street preacher David Grisham, standing outside the school in a Grinch costume holding a sign reading "SANTA IS FAKE JESUS IS REAL" while parents drop their kids off for school.

A YouTube video circulating Tuesday appears to show a parent confronting Grisham while Grisham tells the man "we shouldn't lie to children" and calls him a "jerk off." A school employee can be heard in the background asking the men to move along.

"In today's world, people love lies more than they love the truth," Grisham said in a Facebook video explaining his motives after the Monday incident. "Santa Claus happens to be idolatry in this country."

"We had an unwanted and uninvited Grinch visitor at morning arrival. To be clear, this person does not have any connection to Sleepy Hollow," the school said in a social media post Monday.

Principal Kelsey Williams said in a video Grisham could not be forced to leave because he was on a public sidewalk, but he was issued a criminal trespass warning.

"The Grinch has officially made his way back to Mt. Crumpit, and not a minute too soon, if you ask me," Williams said. "I don't understand his intentions, and I'm saddened by the fact that some of our kiddos and families were frightened because of him."

More: Preacher to kids at mall says 'Santa Claus does not exist'

This is not the first time Grisham has made headlines for dashing children's Christmas joy. In 2016, he drew attention for telling kids in line to see Santa at the Westgate Mall the holiday character is not real.

"There is no such thing as Santa Claus," Grisham told the children at the time before being confronted by a group of angry fathers. "Santa Claus does not exist. The Christmas season is about Jesus."

Grisham, who previously led the fringe evangelical group Repent Amarillo, said in a Facebook post Tuesday he plans to take the Grinch stunt on the road, telling children at schools nationwide that Santa is not real.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Preaching Grinch tells children 'Santa is fake' outside Amarillo school