K-C Radio: KMBZ Listener Arrested For Threatening Host

A 49-year-old man has been arrested and charged with making a felony criminal threat against KMBZ talk radio host Dana Wright, according to The Kansas City Star. 

John D. Gribble was charged last week in Johnson County District Court and appeared in court via Zoom on Thursday. The radio station is in Mission. Wright showed The Star a text message left overnight at the station in March, allegedly from Gribble.

Filled with expletives, the message called Wright a sexual profanity and a “stupid libtard” who “needs to be publicly killed. Someday I’ll find that stupid bitch and fix that problem. Scott is the only voice of reason on that show.” 

Wright co-hosts the “Dana and Parks” weekday afternoon show with Scott Parks. As they discuss and debate news of the day, Wright typically takes a liberal view; he is more conservative. She also posted the message on her Facebook page Wednesday, where hundreds of her followers, mostly women, have responded with support.

Wright told The Star she wanted to tell the public about this case and the harassment she’s endured over the years as a woman working in journalism — 17 years in TV followed by 11 years now in radio. 

Mission police have been escorting her to her car after work. “I cannot tell you how many times in the past years, and way worse after January 6th, that I’ve been threatened because of my job,” Wright told the Star, referencing the storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021. 

“A couple of times men have shown up in the parking lot waiting for me to walk out.” As a condition of his bond, the court last week ordered Gribble to be placed on house arrest, with his whereabouts monitored by GPS. He is also to have no contact with Wright, witnesses, her home or place of employment.