In May 2020, demonstrations and unrest broke out nationwide in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. In Richmond, Va., demonstrators focused their outrage on several statues erected on Monument Avenue, including the Robert E. Lee Monument, which was defaced with spray paint and covered with phrases that not only invoked social justice (such as “Black Lives Matter”) but included profanities that called for violence against the police. In June 2020, a local broadcaster published a picture that would go viral nationally of two young black females dancing or posing on the vandalized Lee Monument in a celebratory manner. The picture was thereafter posted on the Henrico County Public Schools’ Facebook page, pointing out that one of the females was an HCPS student. While some commenters praised the photo, others were critical of the message it conveyed and HCPS’s decision to post the photo.
Reinmuth, an 18-year veteran of the County Division of Fire, joined those criticizing the decision to post the photo on HCPS’ Facebook page. While off-duty, Reinmuth commented “Disgraceful” and added, “Will they be posing with their new TVs as well?”, an allusion to Reinmuth’s belief that the photograph appeared to be advocating for unlawful activity associated with the riots such as vandalism and looting. When Reinmuth’s superiors learned of his comments on the HCPS Facebook page, he was summoned for interrogation about the comments and then terminated the same day. Although Reinmuth filed a grievance challenging his termination, the decision to fire him because of his comments on the Facebook page was upheld.
In the First Amendment lawsuit filed on behalf of Reinmuth, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that Reinmuth had a right as a citizen to express his opinion on the appropriateness of the photo and its posting by a school district given that it related to a matter of significant debate in the community and a matter of public interest and concern. The complaint asserts that Reinmuth’s termination for engaging in speech protected by the First Amendment deprived him of his constitutional rights.
The complaint in Reinmuth v. County of Henrico is available at www.rutherford.org.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been violated and educates the public about threats to their freedoms.
Source: https://bit.ly/3p5LVS4
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