Radio host Caplis drops suit against Churchill supporter

The RMN:

Denver lawyer and radio talk show host Dan Caplis dropped a lawsuit against a community activist who had given a speech that made reference to a confrontation that occurred when Caplis was a student at the University of Colorado.

Glenn Spagnuolo, who criticized Caplis in a speech supporting controversial CU professor Ward Churchill, said Caplis had been in a fistfight "with students of color." He went on to say, "It is no surprise the three stooges of Clear Channel, (Peter) Boyles, (Craig) Silverman and Caplis, would attack the ethnic studies Department."

Silverman is Caplis' co-host on KHOW radio. Churchill taught in CU's Ethnic Studies Department and is appealing a committee recommendation that he be fired for alleged violations that included plagiarism.

Caplis filed a lawsuit calling Spagnuolo's comments "slanderous lies and attacks."

Caplis confirmed Tuesday that he has dropped the lawsuit because Spagnuolo has not repeated the allegation, which Caplis called "complete garbage."

Here's Westword's Michael Roberts last year on Caplis' suit, in the infamous piece in which he called the Try-Works blog "fiercely funny and proudly profane," and quoted the site's "John Moredock" (later, of course, exposed as the scummy and violently obscene CU instructor Ben Whitmer), claiming that Caplis had "assaulted a woman of color with a flagpole."

Or maybe it was a wood rasp.