GREELEY, Colo.—A Greeley school member publicly rebuked by fellow board members for a radio commentary critical of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says he has received death threats over the broadcasts and will start carrying a handgun to board meetings.
The school board voted 6-1 Monday to adopt a statement distancing itself from Brett Reese’s daily broadcast on his radio station of a commentary claiming King was a plagiarist, sexual degenerate and calling him “a modern-day plastic god.” The board called the commentary “inflammatory and detrimental to our district and our community.”
Reese, who left the meeting after the vote, told The Tribune in Greeley that he plans to keep airing the twice-daily commentary leading up to Martin Luther King Day on Monday. He has said while he respects the civil rights movement that King helped lead, he doesn’t believe King should be put on a pedestal.
The commentary is a letter sent by a listener three years ago that Reese said he started airing after satisfying himself that it was factual. He said he has received death threats since news stories last week about the broadcasts.
Reese, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, said he plans to start taking his handgun to school board meetings.
John Gates, director of safety and security for the district, said district policy prohibits Reese from carrying his gun on school sites, but he can carry the gun on other district-owned facilities, such as the administration building.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Mountain States office is among those denouncing the commentary. The group says much of the material in it appears on websites run by extremists and white supremacists and called on Reese to “desist from his divisive public broadcasts.”
Reese said he removed a reference to a website after discovering its link to a white supremacist group.
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Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune,
