A man holds up an Israeli flag as Columbia students participate in a rally in support of Palestine at the university on Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (Spencer Platt/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — A Georgia middle school teacher is facing charges after he allegedly threatened to behead a Muslim student who told him the Israeli flag in his classroom was offensive.
Benjamin Reese was arrested and booked into jail on counts of felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor cruelty to children, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office said. He’s a seventh-grade teacher at Warner Robins Middle School in Perry, a city just more than 100 miles outside of Atlanta.
According to an arrest report obtained by CNN on Friday, nearly two dozen people — among them teachers and students — witnessed parts of Reese’s confrontation with a 13-year-old girl on Dec. 7. They heard him screaming profanities and threats at her in a school hallway, including, “You motherf—ing piece of s–! I’ll kick your a–! I should cut your motherf—ing head off!”
Another teacher, who was tutoring students in the next classroom, recalled hearing Reese call the teen “my antisemitic friend.” The girl later told an officer with the sheriff’s office assigned to the school, that she and two friends were walking past Reese’s classroom when she noticed an Israeli flag hanging inside. They then went into the classroom to ask about the flag because she found it offensive, the incident report said.
As the students tried to walk away, Reese followed them down the hall yelling that they disrespected “his flag,” and then started back toward his classroom, carrying on his tirade.
“She is a stupid motherf—er, and I will drag her by the back of my car and cut her f—ing head off for disrespecting my Jewish flag,” according to the arrest report.
The officer assigned to the school and the school’s principal later approached Reese while he was preparing to leave his classroom, the incident report said. He initially “got defensive,” and questioned why the deputy was being involved. He did later admit he called the student antisemitic but denied he said anything racist.
The Houston County School District told NBC News that Reese has not returned to the middle school since the incident last week, adding that all teachers are required to follow a code of ethics.
“Safety and the well-being of our students and staff is our number one priority,” it said in a statement.
Reese was arrested on Dec. 8 and posted his $7,500 bond Sunday. He faces jail time if convicted.
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