A Georgia teacher has been arrested after allegedly threatening to beat and behead a Muslim student who told him an Israeli flag in his classroom was offensive.
Benjamin Reese, 51, a seventh grade teacher at Warner Robins Middle School, was arrested earlier this month on charges of terroristic threats and cruelty to children, according to the Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
An incident report from the sheriff’s office, obtained by NBC, lists 18 juvenile witnesses and multiple teachers and adults who overheard Mr Reese’s alleged comments on 7 December.
Witnesses reportedly overheard Mr Reese abusing the female student, telling her he would “kick her f****** ass, slit her goddamn throat and drag her ass outside and cut her head off.”
According to NBC, a teacher said they heard Mr Reese yelling about a flag and calling a student antisemitic. The educator also confirmed having also heard the verbal threats.
Mr Reese subsequently posted a $7,500 bond and was released from the Houston County Detention Center on Sunday, according to a representative of the facility.
He requested a public defender, but no attorney had filed to represent him as of Friday, according to the district attorney’s office in Houston County, NBC reported.
According to the incident report, the student who was the focus of Mr Reese’s alleged tirade said that she and two friends were walking past his classroom when she noticed the Israeli flag. The three students went into the classroom to ask about the flag because she found it offensive, the incident report said.
Warner Robins Middle School, in Georgia— (Google Maps)
Mr Reese reportedly told the student he had the flag because “he was Jewish and has family members that still live there.” The student then told Mr Reese she found the flag offensive “because Israelis are killing Palestinians”.
The teacher then began asking if she denied the right of Israel to exist and called the student antisemitic, the incident report said, per NBC.
The students then left the classroom and were followed by Mr Reese who shouted “vulgarities” at them in the hallway, according to the incident report.
When confronted by the school’s principal as he was preparing to leave his classroom, Mr Reese reportedly said he called the student antisemitic. “He went on to say that he has not said anything racist,” the incident report stated.
When the officer began questioning Reese, he stopped talking about his alleged comments, the report said.
The alleged incident comes more than two months from the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. Since then, there have been many alleged anti-Arab and alleged antisemitic attacks reported throughout the US.
Following news of Mr Reese’s arrest, the Georgia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said: "We welcome the swift action against Benjamin Reese including the charges and arrest in connection with the horrific threats he allegedly made to a child.”
The Houston County School District said that Mr Reese has not returned to the middle school since the incident.
In a statement shared with NBC it said district teachers are required to follow a code of ethics, and if there is an accusation the code was broken, the district investigates and responds appropriately.
“Safety and the well-being of our students and staff is our number one priority,” the statement said.
