DeKalb Superintendent Green Says He's Getting Death Threats

DECATUR, GA -- DeKalb County School Superintendent Stephen Green said that he is getting death threats in the wake of a conservative news article that "falsely reported" that educators were fired for making pro-Trump remarks.
In an email exclusively given to Patch, the DeKalb school district said: "Dr. Green has received numerous emails, phone messages, and social media postings supportive and critical of his statement."
Green released a statement last month days after new immigration rules barring U.S. entry of people from seven Muslim countries went into effect.
Read more: DeKalb schools chief says campuses will be 'safe places'
Green, responding to anxiety among scores of faculty and students who found out that many of their foreign-born friends, family members, co-workers and classmates who left the country would be stopped from re-entering the United States, reaffirmed that DeKalb schools would be "safe places" for children of all colors and races to learn.
On Friday, DeKalb schools acknowledged the toll the backlash has taken on their chief: "He has received some threats that involved physical harm, which are being investigated by District and DeKalb County law enforcement."
When asked by WXIA-TV, if he feared for his life, Green said, "In a healthy way, I think I'm concerned."

Green's family is under protection and the investigation is a criminal one, the school district told Patch.

"It's cause for concern, certainly. It's a time for me to be mindful to take the proper precautions to protect me and my family," Green told the TV station.
Meanwhile, the writer of the article in the conservative opinion website is hitting back at Green after he slammed his story as "misleading."
"I have been contacted by several members of the local media today informing me of Dr. Green's displeasure with my article of Feb. 14 on WND.com," Leo Hohmann, an Atlanta-based author and journalist, said in a statement sent to Patch. "This was the first I've heard of any problems. He has not contacted me, nor has anyone from DeKalb County Schools reached out to me to ask for any corrections or retractions to this story, which to my knowledge is 100 percent accurate."

On Thursday, Green released a statement saying that the conservative news and opinion website "falsely" reported that DeKalb employees were let go for their political views. Green said that the employees voluntarily left the district and that, "It is important to know that this outlet never contacted the District or me to discuss the facts."

Patch previously reported allegations that two teachers at Brookhaven's Cross Keys High School -- which is majority-Hispanic -- had resigned after making derogatory comments toward immigrants.

Green told WAGA-TV that the comments made by the teachers who resigned were “inappropriate statements to make to students.”

Read more: DeKalb Superintendent Green slams 'misleading' news report

Hohmann added: "Mr. Green's attempts to slander me in the local media for reporting the truth about his policies suggest he is catching heat for trying to snuff out the First Amendment rights of every DeKalb County Schools employee. He is rightly embarrassed for having his anti-free speech policies exposed and now he is trying to lash out against the messenger who exposed him. Perhaps he would be better off to look in the mirror and think about changing his message."

Green, for his part, has told local media that, "We categorically deny and refute any of that being truthful."
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