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A Georgia fire department employee was suspended without pay Monday after a post was made from his social media account referencing the immigration status of George Floyd protesters.
Investigators found that the since-deleted post was created by the employee's wife, with whom he shares a Facebook account, but he was still hit with a week-long suspension without pay.
"During our investigation, both the employee and his spouse both stated that the spouse had typed and posted the remarks on Facebook. The employee stated he was not aware of the post until the next day when another employee contacted him about this post," Gainesville, Georgia City Manager Bryan Lackey said following the investigation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"While this finding did lessen the impacts and involvement of the employee, we still proceeded with a disciplinary action as all employees are responsible for any posts or remarks made from a social media account associated with their name," Lackey said, adding that the employee was "strongly advised" to no longer have a joint social media account with his wife.
Newsweek reached out to the Gainesville fire chief for comment on the employee, but he did not respond in time for publication.
In a Facebook post on May 31, Lackey commended the "impassioned" demonstrators who were mostly peaceful, and criticized the "inappropriate, distasteful and baseless" commentary made from the fire department employee's account.
"We want the public to know the comments of this one individual do not, in any way, shape or form, reflect the views or position of the Gainesville Fire Department, nor city of Gainesville government. The city prides itself on being a melting pot, and has zero tolerance for comments such as these. City and department leaders are in the process of addressing this personnel issue at this time," Lackey said at the time.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 42.2 percent of Gainesville's population identifies as Hispanic or Latino.
Protesters in Gainesville recently called for the removal of a Confederate statue known as Old Joe from the city. A Change.org petition states the statue could possibly be moved to the Northeast Georgia History Center to allow "for the placement of a monument that celebrates our community's growing diversity."
One protester said during a June 17 demonstration at the statue site she wants "a commitment from the Hall County commissioners to remove this statue and replace it with something that fosters a united community where all are welcome," according to the Gainesville Times.
