OKLAHOMA CITY: AFTER THE BOMB : Radio Station Drops Liddy Show, Gets Threats

A San Bernardino radio station has been targeted with bomb and death threats after dropping G. Gordon Liddy’s ultraconservative talk show in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing.

“One of the most recent calls was, ‘You are all going to die,’ ” Bill McNulty, general manager of KCKC-AM, said Wednesday. “And I thought, ‘My God, what is wrong with you people?’ ”

McNulty said that he had decided to drop Liddy’s syndicated show even before President Clinton on Monday called for radio talk show hosts and politicians to cool their angry rhetoric in the wake of the bombing.

“President Clinton voiced what already was my mind set,” McNulty said. “After watching (an) expose of the Michigan Militia, I realized what a serious threat these ultra-right activist groups pose to America, and that G. Gordon Liddy is essentially their spokesperson. I’m concerned that the fringe extreme element will actually take action on the volatile positions he presents.”

Liddy, a convicted Watergate conspirator, has advised his listeners to aim for the head if agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms burst through the doors, because the ATF agents wear bulletproof vests.

The 5,000-watt station had carried Liddy for about two years, to balance a liberal talk show host it also features.

When Liddy’s was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, McNulty went on the air to announce that the program was being pulled because “we believe we are entering an era where we need to embrace greater understanding and compassion, rather than foster or encourage extremist action.”

The station “fully supports free speech, but with free speech comes responsibility,” McNulty said. “As we continue to see more bodies being pulled from the (Oklahoma City) rubble, we are constantly reminded of the impact of extremist and terroristic views. KCKC will not be party to this kind of destructive behavior.”

Liddy’s office did not return phone calls seeking a response. McNulty said the syndicate had asked him to reconsider the decision in order “to experience the resulting ratings based on the attention the show was receiving.”

Since dropping the show, four death and bomb threats were called in, McNulty said.

In Liddy’s place, the station will run CNN’s “Headline News” and O.J. Simpson trial coverage.