Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz was threatened during a local radio program.
On Thursday, Poloncarz sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo authorizing the placement of legal refugees in Erie County. In response, a caller to radio station WBEN, identifying himself as David from Lockport, issued a threat of harm to Poloncarz and his family.
The county executive is upset that the radio station did nothing to stop the threat and it did not address the call.
"I am disappointed such a threat was made against me and my family members and that the radio station did nothing to stop it and didn’t address what the phone caller said immediately after it aired. While people have the right to disagree with policy positions and specific decisions made by their public officials, in our democracy threats made against anyone are unacceptable, including what was stated Tuesday on WBEN," Poloncarz wrote in a Facebook post.
Poloncarz said he will share information about the threat with appropriate law enforcement agencies. He also plans to file a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission regarding the use of public airwaves to make a threat and the failure of the radio station to respond.
