Right-Wing Radio Host Wishes For 'A Nice School Shooting' To Distract From Impeachment News
The radio show was promptly canceled after the host’s despicable request was uttered on-air
Amid the news that Donald Trump has been formally impeached by the House of Representatives, conservatives are, predictably, upset. One right-wing radio persona took those feelings about a million steps too far when he literally wished for “a nice school shooting” on-air.
On the Chuck & Julie Show earlier this week, host Chuck Bonniwell mentioned the impeachment process of President Donald Trump and, apparently hoping for other news to distract from the impeachment news cycle, actually said the following words out loud: “You wish for a nice school shooting to interrupt.”
His wife and co-host, Julie Hayden, realizing the absolutely inexcusable thing her husband said would be met with extremely valid outrage, immediately cut him off from saying anything else. “No, no, don’t even — don’t even say that,” she said. “No, don’t even say that. Don’t call us, Chuck didn’t say that.”
Bonniwell quickly tried to play off his statement, saying he would want a shooting “in which no one would be hurt,” but it was way too little, too late. By the end of the day, the couple’s show was canceled by Colorado radio station 710 KNUS.
“Given the history of school violence that has plagued our community, 710 KNUS confirms that an inappropriate comment was made on the ‘Chuck & Julie’ show by co-host Chuck Bonniwell,” the station said in a statement on Twitter. “A programming decision was made to end the program immediately.”
According to the Denver Post, Bonniwell defended his “joke” about school shootings in a now-deleted tweet, where he offered a non-apology while claiming everyone just misunderstood the blatantly horrible thing he said: “I made an inappropriate comment meant as a joke. I’m sorry it was not received that way.”
Upon news of Bonniwell’s firing, people were still upset.
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1207513413695311872
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1207541662907416579
Colorado is no stranger to gun violence in schools. Twenty years ago, two teenage gunmen killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School. In 2012, a gunman walked into an Aurora movie theater and killed 12 people. In May, two shooters killed a student and injured several others at a high school in a Denver suburb.
Knowing all of this, and the pervasive gun violence that regularly plagues schools and communities nationwide, and to still utter that sentence is reprehensible.
John Castillo, the father of 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, who was killed while trying to protect his classmates in the STEM School shooting, says to call the suggestion for a school shooting to distract from impeachment news “unbelievable.”
