On Wednesday’s radio program, Glenn reacted to the report that a New Hampshire father was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct on Monday after he expressed concern at a school board meeting about a book his ninth grade daughter was assigned to read. William Baer took issue with a scene in Jodi Picoult’s novel Nineteen Minutes that details a graphic sexual encounter.
Officials at Gilford High School claim the book contains important themes about a school shooting. According to WCVB-TV, however, the book contains “a graphic description of rough sex between two teenagers,” and parents were not made aware of such content until the book had already been distributed to students.
Baer attempted to raise his concerns over the novel’s content at the school board meeting. Below is video that captures his arrest: Below is the video of what led to his arrest:
Baer recounted the incident to TheBlaze in an interview on Wednesday. As he explained, the arresting officer appeared nervous and even reluctant to take him into custody.
“His hands were shaking I believe. And then when I observed his demeanor and his behavior – he was clearly nervous and I said to him, ‘What are you so nervous about? I’m the one getting arrested,’” Baer explained. “And he said something to the effect of, ‘I really don’t want to do this.’”
Ultimately, Baer said he was really looking for “a notice to opt-in” and he didn’t want to prevent other students from reading the book if their parents approved. The book has since been pulled from the classroom.
“I’m not really looking for a fight,” Baer told TheBlaze. “But I’m highly offended and insulted and hurt and humiliated that these people saw fit to have me arrested for voicing my opinion at a school board meeting that didn’t comply with their arbitrary two-minute rule.”
On air Wednesday, Glenn took particular issue with the other parents in the room who refused to so much as make eye contact with Baer once the police got involved. Given how Baer claims the officer reacted to the situation, one person speaking up could have made a difference.
“The police officer may have thought twice if another parent in the room would have said, ‘What are you doing,’” Jeffy said.
“If one other person would have said, ‘Officer, that's not right. That's not right.The man hasn't broken any laws.’ If one person would have peacefully said something, this would have truly been… an iconic moment,” Glenn concluded. “Here's a guy who's totally in control. He's not shouting. All he wants is an opt-out for his daughter. He's not talking about banning the books. He said, ‘I want an opt-out for my daughter… This is offensive to me’…He's being totally respectful.”