FDNY Chief Vows To 'Hunt Down' Own Employees Who Booed AG Letitia James
A New York Fire Department (FDNY)'s top official has vowed to "hunt down" pro-Trump staffers who were caught on video booing New York Attorney General Letitia James during a Thursday ceremony.
"BITS is investigating this, so they will figure out who the members are," FDNY Chief of Department John Hodges warned employees via email, referring to the department's Bureau of Investigation.
"I recommend they come forward. I have been told by the commissioner it will be better for them if they come forward and we don’t have to hunt them down," the email continues, according to the Daily Caller.
"The [deputy chiefs] shall direct the captain of the company to make a list of those who come forward and send it directly to [FDNY operations]. I realize members might not come forward but they should know that there is clear video of the entire incident and they will be contacted by BITS if they don’t," Hodges wrote.
A video posted on X shows a crowd chanting "Trump" during James' speech. As X user End Wokeness notes (@EndWokeness), memos and emails allagedly from the Uniformed Fire Officer Association (UFOA) and Uniformed Firefighters Association slammed the pro-Trump staffers - stating that the chanting was inappropritate "on the job's time," and that the offenders "must do better."
The FDNY firefighters who booed NY AG Letitia James will be punished and face reeducation.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 9, 2024
FDNY firefighters are now being asked to turn themselves in or risk being hunted down.
Memos and emails from the Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA) & Uniformed Firefighters… pic.twitter.com/pBq8DccGf8
"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," one unidentified FDNY retiree told the NY Post, adding "Most were off-duty and not in FDNY uniform."
Famed constitutional and criminal law attorney Alan Dershowitz blasted the FDNY’s hunt down.
“Firefighters have an absolute constitutional right to boo the attorney general, and the government has no power to punish them for it,” Dershowitz told The Post. “So efforts to get the names of the booers is an effort by the government to chill free speech and is unconstitutional.”
The Uniformed Fire Officers Association sent out a message to its members on Saturday warning them of the directive and that the department is in “possession of video footage of the event.”
“As part of this discussion, questions may be asked to specific UFOA members over their actions or their recollections,” the message said. -NY Post
James was immediately booed on Thursday as she walked the the podium at the Christian Cultural Center’s Brooklyn Campus in Starrett City, on her way past the families of captains, battalion chiefs and civilians up for promotion, as well as the firefighters who work beside them.