>Was there any merit to the person that said they spoke to this guy and he was saying racist / bigoted things? There are people also claiming your father was threatening to shoot people? Is this just random people on Reddit telling lies?

I think so. Telling lies and trying to incite violence, IMO.

Edited to add: The person who made those statements has at least one post in a subreddit that "officially endorses the New Black Panther Party and the Black Hebrew Israelites".

Both of those groups have been classified as violent hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.