Man charged with making threat during Ringgold teachers’ strike says he was ‘just running my mouth’
Sounding almost like a teacher of English literature, defense attorney Neil Marcus in Washington County Court Tuesday quoted a line from Shakespeare’s play, “Henry VI, Part 2”:
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
“What did William Shakespeare mean by that?” he asked. “”Was it a threat against all the lawyers? Was it perhaps a compliment? Unless you have the context, you don’t really know the answer to that.”
Marcus, who held up a poster to drive home his point, was not attempting to school his audience of 12 jurors and two alternates in the finer points of Elizabethan drama. He was instead seeking the acquittal of his client, George J. Shallenberger, who is charged with making a terroristic threat on social media last year against striking Ringgold teachers.
Shallenberger, 45, of Union Township, posted a comment on a local-interest Facebook page Nov. 9, 2017:
“Let’s raise taxes for these worthless (expletive)!! … They sure have nice cars for not making any money. (Expletives),” and “Easiest job in the world but they need more money. Shoot them and start over.”
This post and others were digitally displayed on a screen, and Judge Valarie Costanzo told jurors their depiction was accurate.
Marcus told the jurors Shallenberger was simply letting off steam and that he never took – nor intended to take – action.
Shallenger testified in his own defense, repeatedly saying, “I was just running my mouth” when asked about the “shoot them” post.
“You’re not talking about the teachers here?” asked Assistant District Attorney Nathan Michaux. “You’re saying ‘them’ refers to no one?”
Under direct examination by Marcus, Shallenberger denied his post had anything to do with the teachers’ strike or that he harassed any teachers.
Marcus asked what Shallenberger did after writing the post.
“I went to bed,” he replied.
The defendant also indicated it was merely coincidental that he posted the words, “Happiness is a warm gun” – the title of a Beatles’ song, and the words, “Guns don’t kill people, I kill people,” – a quotation from the movie “Happy Gilmore” on his personal Facebook page the day before.
Jurors learned Tuesday that Shallenberger pleaded guilty in 2000 to recklessly endangering his then-girlfriend, now wife, Sandra.
She testified on his behalf Tuesday afternoon, describing his arrest but saying her husband did not want to hurt teachers.
Shallenberger, the married father of three, lost his midnight-shift job as a welder after he was arrested and incarcerated for five days.
Michaux questioned Ringgold Police Chief Clayton Shell, who learned of the Facebook post from a striking teacher. Although pickets were to remain off school property during their Oct. 18 to Nov. 21 strike, they were given the option of seeking refuge inside school buildings that day.
Monongahela police Patrolman Kevin Harris phoned Shallenberger the afternoon of Nov. 9, but he testified that the defendant declined to discuss the matter with him.
Shallenberger’s home was placed under surveillance lest he try to leave, but he typically slept during the daytime and was arrested in his bedroom after police obtained a warrant later that day.