TV host resigns after 'hot poker' tweet directed at Parkland student
Associated Press
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Published:
April 10, 2018
Updated:
April 10, 2018 1:17 PM EDT
In this March 2, 2017 photo, Moderator Jamie Allman, host of Allman in the Morning, sits at a City of St. Louis Mayoral Debate filmed at Vue 17, in Richmond Heights, Mo. (Cristina M. Fletes/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
ST. LOUIS — A conservative commentator who sent a violent and vulgar tweet saying he would use “a hot poker” to sexually assault a 17-year-old survivor of a Florida high school shooting has resigned from a St. Louis TV station after several advertisers withdrew from his show.
KDNL-TV has cancelled “The Allman Report” and accepted Jamie Allman’s resignation, according to a brief statement from Ronn Torossian, a spokesman for the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates the TV station. Before the show’s launch in January 2015, KDNL-TV touted it as a nontraditional newscast with a conservative spin.
Allman hasn’t responded to messages from the Associated Press seeking comment. He was absent Monday from his show on KFTK-FM. The radio station’s owner, Emmis Communications, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking about Allman’s status.
Several businesses pulled advertising from Allman’s shows after he sent the March 26 tweet targeting David Hogg. Allman’s Twitter account was “locked” shortly after he sent the tweet, restricting access to his account, but a screenshot of it has been widely circulated on social media.
Hogg has strongly advocated for stricter gun control since 17 people were killed in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at his school in Parkland, Florida. The teenager’s willingness to take on the cause has made him a target for some conservatives.
David Hogg and other students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walk out of school to honour the memories of 17 classmates and teachers that were killed during a mass shooting at the school on March 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham took a week’s leave after apologizing via social media for her tweet that Hogg had “whined” about not getting in to some colleges he had applied for. Ingraham hasn’t discussed that episode specifically, but promised upcoming stories about conservatives who she says are fighting attempts to silence them.
Hogg, meanwhile, said it’s “time to love thy neighbour, not mudsling at children.”
Their social media spat came to symbolize the debate over how youthful advocates for gun safety should be treated by political opponents. Another student, Emma Gonzalez, has been falsely depicted in a doctored photo tearing up the Constitution.
State Rep. Stacey Newman, D-Richmond Heights, led calls for a boycott by Allman’s sponsors after the tweet.
“We’ve had people all over Missouri (and) all over the country weighing in on this … it’s heartwarming to know that tons of people throughout the state understand this is not acceptable,” Newman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday. “Even though we hadn’t asked for his removal or resignation, (Sinclair) took it upon themselves. People know where the line is.”
Sinclair is a conservative-leaning company that owns nearly 200 local TV stations, making it one of the largest such companies in the U.S.
President Donald Trump last week defended the company after a video showing dozens of Sinclair news anchors reading a script expressing concern about “fake stories” and “one-sided news stories plaguing the country” appeared on TV news reports and circulated online. Trump said rival TV stations were merely “worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast.”
Sinclair also has pushed for regulation of the broadcast industry to be eased and is trying to buy Tribune Media in a move that would dramatically increase the company’s reach.
Allman also served a six-month stint in 2004 and 2005 as chief spokesman for then-St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke and executive director of communications for the archdiocese. Archdiocese spokesman Gabe Jones didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking comment.
TV host resigns after ‘hot poker’ tweet directed at Parkland student | Toronto Sun
Teachers given baseball bats to fight off school shooters
Associated Press
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Published:
April 10, 2018
Updated:
April 10, 2018 7:29 AM EDT
(Getty Images)
ERIE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania school district has given its teachers small wooden baseball bats as a reminder to fight a school shooter with any weapon available should other options fail.
The superintendent of the Millcreek Township School District says the 16-inch bats are primarily symbolic, but the district did want to have a “consistent tool” for all teachers should they need to fight and attacker.
Superintendent William Hall tells the Erie Times-News the district’s revised school shooting response plan puts more emphasis on options other than “hiding and waiting.” The president of the local teachers union says he supports the move.
The district outside of Erie also had added additional security measures at school entrances.
Last month, another Pennsylvania district said it was arming teachers and students with buckets of rocks.
Millcreek teachers encouraged to fight shooter if options fail - News - GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Teachers given baseball bats to fight off school shooters | Toronto Sun