A Jewish middle school teacher has been charged with making terroristic threats and cruelty to children after he allegedly threatened to assault and behead a student who found his display of the Israeli flag offensive.
Witnesses, including staff and students at the Georgia school, reported they heard the threats and observed his behavior.
As a safety precaution, the Houston County School District has since removed the teacher from the campus.
Benjamin Reese, seventh-grade social studies teacher at Warner Robins Middle School, was arrested on Friday, Dec. 8, a day after the confrontation with the student, according to the Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
The 51-year-old was charged with felony terroristic threats and acts and misdemeanor cruelty to children in the third degree for allegedly shouting at a student, “You motherf*****g piece of s**t! I’ll kick your a**. I should cut your motherf*****g head off,” according to 13 WMAZ.
Initially, around 3:30 p.m., the student asked the teacher why he had the flag up, and the teacher explained that he was Jewish and had family in Israel.
The young girl remarked she believed the flag was offensive “due to Israelis killing Palestinians” during the Israel-Hamas war. Reese considered this comment anti-Semitic, triggering his outburst.
The student’s statement is based on recent tallies of Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, authorities in Gaza, one of the two Palestinian territories Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, state that over 18,600 individuals have lost their lives in the conflict that began within days of the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel that killed at least 1,200 people. The majority of the Palestinian casualties incurred in Israel’s invasion of Gaza are identified as women and children, and the figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The teacher told the girl, “You don’t make an anti-Semitic comment like that to a Jew,” before spiraling into the threats.
Multiple witnesses, including teachers, staff members, and students who were in class for tutoring or after-school detention, reported to a deputy at the school that they heard threatening the girl and shouting about the incident when she was gone.
“I will drag her a** into the parking lot, slit her f*****g throat and kill her,” one witness heard him repeat.
The deputy reviewed security footage from the hallway where it happened and, while it had no audio, was able to see that Reese was out of control with anger. The officer took what he discovered to the principal, Brett Wallace, who then confronted the teacher.
The teacher did not deny the exchange but became defensive, particularly when he was talking to the deputy.
Reese reportedly asked how the deputy was interviewing him about the incident, whether as a school resource officer (SRO) or as a general officer.
The deputy responded affirmatively to both roles, and Reese, asserting his civil rights, chose not to provide any additional information, pleading the fifth.
Warner Robins Middle School is a predominantly minority school, with Black students making up 58 percent of the population.
With the testimony from others and other evidence, Reese was arrested and then later released on bond on Sunday, Dec. 10. The judge set a bond of $2,500 for the threat count and $5,000 for the cruelty to children count.
Houston County Schools issued this statement saying that all teachers are required to abide by a particular Code of Ethics, saying, “If there is a violation or accusation of a violation, we investigate and respond appropriately.”
“While we are not able to discuss specific personnel matters, we can share that Mr. Reese has not been on the campus of Warner Robins Middle School since Dec. 7, 2023,” the district said, adding, “Safety and the well-being of our students and staff is our number one priority.”
