Letitia James, the New York Attorney General behind the civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump, appeared to speak at a New York Fire Department (FDNY) promotion ceremony on Thursday, March 7. It went less than well for her, with firefighters booing her loudly and chanting “Trump,” and the FDNY leadership responded by asking those who booed to come forward and said that they would be found and “educated” about their behavior. Now the firefighters are sounding off on that response from leadership.
In fact, one firefighter argued that, far from the event being non-political, as FDNY leadership claimed, it was obviously a political event meant to put AG James in the spotlight, and that the FDNY leadership was upset that it went poorly for them and AG James.
Speaking to the media, a firefighter said, “It was a political stunt for the city to have the AG there. When it backfired, they sent their fascist pit bulls after guys for exercising their First Amendment rights.” That firefighter went on to note that the firefighters weren’t even in uniform when booing AG James, saying, “Most were off-duty and not in FDNY uniform.”
A firefighter also said that the booing and jeering was directly related to AG James’ attacks on former President Donald Trump. That firefighter said, “She has no problem, bragging that she convicted Trump, so this is how hard-working New Yorkers, who put their life on the line, feel about her actions.”
Legal expert Alan Dershowitz argued that the firefighters had a right to boo AG James, saying, “Firefighters have an absolute constitutional right to boo the attorney general, and the government has no power to punish them for it.” He added, “So efforts to get the names of the booers is an effort by the government to chill free speech and is unconstitutional.”
The document that emerged from the FDNY’s response to the booing and jeering of AG James, on the other hand, claimed that the event was not political and so the boos and jeers were not appropriate. It said, “This was not a political event and Letitia James was not there to give a political speech. She was there to support her friend and our new chaplain Pamela Holmes. Pamela invited her friend to attend the ceremony.”
Continuing, it went on to add, “Members have a right to political beliefs. But you don’t have a right to make a job related ceremony political in nature. When you’re not on duty, feel however you want about politicians. Vote. Protest. That’s your right. But don’t do it on the job’s time, on other members’ time, or on their families’ time. Do it on your own time.”
Watch James get booed here:
The Trump campaign, responding to the event, said that AG James is “an embarrassment to the people of New York.” It added, “The rank and file of the FDNY know they have no greater friend than president Trump. The president is honored by, and grateful for their very vocal support.”
Featured image credit: By Er-nay – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67718860
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