A northeast Arkansas volunteer fire department fired a firefighter Tuesday over a Facebook post that said athletes who don't stand for the national anthem should be shot.
The post, attributed to Earle Fire Department volunteer firefighter Jonathan Marotti, said President Donald Trump should "post snipers at every game and each player that takes a knee or sits in the lockerroom" during the national anthem "should b shot in the head."
The post said people "out here protesting and makin idiots out of urselves," particularly "obama lovin snowflakes," should also be shot.
The Earle Fire Department, which has 19 firefighters, said in a statement Tuesday morning that Marotti has been fired. The department said it disagreed with the Facebook post, and "that type of behavior will not be tolerated."
Assistant Chief John Buford said Marotti, who had worked with the department for at least four years, had violated the agency's social media policy. The policy bans employees from posting anything that may reflect poorly on the department.
"You devalue human life by making a comment like that," Buford said.
Earle is a town of roughly 2,400 people about 22 miles west of West Memphis.
The Facebook post attributed to Marotti came after players in the National Football League kneeled during the national anthem this week in protest of racial injustice. Some teams stayed in their locker rooms during the national anthem.
Several players said they kneeled in defiance of Trump, who had called on team owners to fire or suspend "son of b***h" players" who protest during the anthem.
NFL executives and team owners widely condemned Trump's comments, calling them divisive.
Metro on 09/27/2017