Court: Firing Of Trump-Supporting Dispatcher Justified Due To Racial Slur

A federal appeals court has reportedly ruled that Nashville officials were justified in the termination of a dispatcher who used a racist slur in a social media post supporting Donald Trump's 2016 election.

A lower court previously ruled in favor of former Metro Government Emergency Operations Center dispatcher Danyelle Bennett, who sued Metro Government after she lost an administrative appeal of her termination, claiming she was fired for making a political statement protected by the First Amendment, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

However, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the decision, ruling that Bennett's comment was racist and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

Bennett, who is White, was initially placed on paid leave before being fired for using the n-word in a comment on a Facebook post to her public page -- which mentioned her occupation as a dispatcher -- in support of Trump's election.

The post included an electoral map of the United States, which showed all of the areas won by Trump highlighted in red. A commenter responded to the post with, "Redneck states vote for Trump, (n-word) and Latinos vote for Hillary," the Sentinel reports.

Bennett replied, “Thank god we have more America loving rednecks. Red spread across all America. Even (n-word) and Latinos voted for Trump too," the Sentinel reports.

Sixth Circuit Court judge Martha Craig Daughtrey said the court decided in a majority opinion that Bennett was fired for using offensive language -- not because of her support for Trump -- which does not enjoy the same level of First Amendment as political speech.

“Testimony and the facts of the case indicate that Bennett was fired specifically for her use of a racial slur, for her lack of regret for doing so, and for the disruption it caused — not for the political nature of her original post,” Daughtrey wrote via the Sentinel.

Bennett was a dispatcher for 16 years prior to her termination, according to records filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville. The Sentinel reports Bennett was outspoken of her support of Trump, wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hoodie during a costume workplace event with a "Superheroes and Villains Day" theme.

Photo: Getty Images