The merry pranksters of Project Veritas captured a (no ex-) PBS attorney, Michael Beller, saying the following (video below):
Michael Beller: “We go for all the Republican voters and Homeland Security will take their children away…we’ll put them into the re-education camps.”
“Enlightenment camps. They’re nice, they have Sesame Street characters in the classrooms, and they watch PBS all day.”
“Americans are so f*cking dumb. You know, most people are dumb. It’s good to live in a place [Washington, D.C.] where people are educated and know stuff. Could you imagine if you lived in one of these other towns or cities where everybody’s just stupid?”
“What’s great is that COVID is spiking in all the red states right now. So that’s great…a lot of them [red state voters] are sick and dying.”
For a change, this has earned Beller a pink slip:
WTTW (the PBS affiliate in Chicago) this afternoon sent me, as the Chairman, and all the other members of the Community Advisory Board, the following statement:
We recently learned from PBS headquarters in Arlington, Virginia that a member of their legal department was targeted by Project Veritas, a far-right activist group that is known for producing deceptive videos. A video of that individual’s personal interaction with an undercover member of Project Veritas was released today.
PBS has released the following statement in response: “This employee no longer works for PBS. As a mid-level staff attorney, he did not speak on behalf of our organization, nor did he make any editorial decisions. There is no place for hateful rhetoric at PBS, and this individual’s views in no way reflect our values or opinions. We strongly condemn violence and will continue to do what we have done for 50 years – use our national platform and local presence to strengthen communities and bring people together.”
As you know, at WTTW we strongly condemn intolerant speech. We are committed to producing and presenting trusted, independent news and public affairs content. We will continue to deliver on our purpose to enrich lives, engage communities and inspire exploration for all members of our community.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.