Did Anchor Threaten to Bring AK-47 to Work? (Patreon)

Yesterday, FTVLive told you about a missing from the air, St. Louis Anchor and we said we would have more on the story.

FTVLive reported that KSDK Morning show anchor Rene Knott was pulled from the air and is gone from the station.

Sources tell FTVLive that KSDK employees on the morning newscast say that Knott threatened to bring an AK 47 to work.   

"He was joking of course but after a few times, he was reported to HR," said one station employee to FTVLive, adding, "Rene is a good guy and was THE favorite of our GM but Tegna had to do something after the threats, whether they were real or not."

St. Louis magazine reports that Knott says his supervisor told him not to come in on Oct. 9, and that he was instead asked to join a human resources representative on a FaceTime call. There, Knott says he was asked about comments he’d supposedly made about violence and guns, including one alleged comment about getting his AK-47. He insists he never talked about guns in any context other than a journalistic one. “I’ve never touched a gun,” he says, “so I don’t know where that comes from.”

Knott says he was also asked whether he’d made comments about wanting to kick coworkers’ asses, which he characterized as normal joking around that no one had ever complained about—to him or, to his knowledge, to others.

Knott claims that after the Tegna station's initial inquiry, on Oct. 15, Knott says he was summoned to another call, but this one lasted just a few minutes. Knott says he was told that Tegna has a zero tolerance policy. He was then asked to resign.

“I said to myself, Well, if no one believes me after all these years, why would I want to work in that environment?” Knott told St. Louis Magazine. “Why would I work with people who are saying these things about me now?”

Knott has been with the station for over two decades.

The station is not commenting, but one of his former co-workers tells FTVLive, "We all wish him well and hope he gets some help."

H/T St. Louis Mag