BOCA RATON, Fla. – Boca Raton Community Middle School teacher Preston Smith contends it’s his right to install a large satanic display next to the nativity scene at Sanborn Square downtown.

Smith gained approval from the city to install a massive inverted pentagram with a sign reading “May the children hail Satan” to make a point about his take on the separation of church and state, and parents are now questioning his judgement in the classroom, WPTV reports.

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“’May the children hail Satan’ is an artistic expression of defiance toward the Sanborn Square nativity scene, which performs an annual reenactment of predatory indoctrination in a public park targeting young children before they have critical thinking skills,” he told the news site in a statement.

“Satan and God are clearly both fictional characters devoid of any verifiable peer-reviewed scientific evidence,” Smith wrote.

Smith installed the red, 10-foot tall pentagram Dec. 7 after insisting on equal public space for his “religion” in the park’s free speech zone, and included provocative messages like “In Stan we trust. One nation under Antichrist” to spark community outrage.

“Last week, dozens marched, prayed and chanted for the removal of the display, which has been called everything from ‘evil’ to an expression of freedom of speech,” the Palm Beach Post reports.

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“This group purports to be a group that wants religion removed from public places … but then they’re using an inflammatory religious symbol to make their point,” Rev. Andrew Sherman of St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church told the Post at the protest. “That feels both hypocritical and frankly shameful to us.”

Smith told WPTV he would never “proselytize my own viewpoints in the classroom or disparage any child’s personal faith,” but parent teacher association president Kim Bremer thinks Smith’s actions speak volumes. Many parents are planning to protest for Smith’s removal in front of the school on Wednesday morning.

“A teacher we entrust our children with should not be putting a sign like this anywhere,” Bremer said.

Parent Solange Bush said she tried to move her 14-year-old son out of Smith’s language arts class, but was unsuccessful.

“I just don’t feel comfortable about it and I don’t agree with it,” she said.

Boca Raton superintendent Robert Avossa, meanwhile, has refused to move against the teacher.

“We certainly can’t micro-manage what an individual does outside of the schoolhouse,” he told WPTV. “I am aware of the situation. This isn’t the first time this individual has participated in an activity like that. What we do is answer any questions as they come up to the school.”

As community leaders including the mayor and local clergy denounce Smith’s display, others have sent a different kind of message. Someone ripped off a sign after it first went up, then it was spray-painted on Monday, and last night it appears someone literally ran the pentagram over with a vehicle, WPTV reports.

Boca Raton Police spokeswoman Sandra Boonenberg told the news site the display has been vandalized at least four times since early December.