Ga. teacher threatened to decapitate student who called Israeli flag offensive, police say

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A Georgia teacher is facing charges after being accused of threatening to kill a middle school student who said she was offended by the Israeli flag in his classroom, according to police.

Benjamin Reese, 51, is a teacher at Warner Robins Middle School in Houston County. The school’s website lists him as a social studies teacher.

According to the Houston County Sheriff’s Office report, several teachers told the school resource officer that Reese had threatened to decapitate a student on Dec. 7.

He was allegedly heard yelling, “you [expletive] piece of [expletive]! I’ll kick your [expletive]! I should cut your [expletive] head off!” at a group of three girls, according to statements in the incident report.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Several teachers, staff members and students told the school’s officer that they had overheard Reese yelling expletives.

The expletive-laced tirade began after a group of students walked by Reese’s classroom and noticed that he had the Israeli flag hanging in his classroom.

One of the girls stopped and told the others she wanted to talk to him about it.

“She pointed at the Israeli flag and told Reese that she has a question about it,” the report reads. It goes on to say that the student asked Reese why he had it in the class and told him that she found it offensive.

He reportedly told her that “he was Jewish and has family members that still live there” before he got angry and reportedly called her antisemitic.

The student told the officer that Reese began to yell and approach her and demanded to know who she was and who her first-period teacher was. She told him and left the classroom with other students.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Jury says Rudy Giuliani must pay $148M after promoting lies about Fulton County election workers
• Mother, 14-year-old boy killed in Lilburn crash identified
• Woman found guilty of chasing down, killing hit-and-run driver sentenced to life in prison

The girls said they could hear Reese keep yelling as they walked down the hall, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Another teacher told the officer that Reese said he should not be spoken to like that because he’s Jewish.

“She is a stupid [expletive], and I will drag her by the back of my car and cut her [expletive] head off for disrespecting my Jewish flag,” Reese yelled according to another account in the report.

Reese refused to speak with the officer at the school aside from stating that he had not said anything racist and only told the girl who came to his classroom that she was being antisemitic.

He was later arrested and charged with terroristic threats and cruelty to children. He was released from the Houston County Jail a few days later.

The Houston County School District shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News that said Reese has not been on the school’s campus since the Dec. 7 incident, which is still under investigation.

All employees of the Houston County School District are required to follow the Code of Ethics for Educators. 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 December 7, 2023. Safety and the well-being of our students and staff is our number one priority.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Parents of boy with autism allegedly assaulted by Conyers teacher don’t believe it’s the first time

©2023 Cox Media Group