The protester who hanged an effigy of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear from a tree outside the Kentucky State Capitol during a rally supporting Second Amendment rights and protesting coronavirus restrictions has been fired from his job.
The Neil Huffman Auto Group on Tuesday axed Terry Bush, his wife Patsy Bush said, according to Louisville Courier Journal.
"He was fired because this governor is more important than the regular Joe out in this state trying to put food on their tables," she said on Wednesday morning.
Patsy was also present at the Frankfort protest and said her husband was not behind the idea of hanging the effigy; he merely helped hoist it from the tree. She felt that Terry's firing was unfair.
"Neil Huffman let outside influences cause a man who had never been late, always professional and had been an outstanding employee be fired for no good cause," she said. "They fired him for exercising his [First Amendment] right to free speech where no laws were broken, no one was terrorized, no one was threatened, and Neil Huffman was never mentioned or involved in any way."
Shannon Huffman, the human resources manager for the auto dealership, confirmed that an unnamed employee involved in the protest had been fired.
"The Neil Huffman Auto Group does not condone threats of violence in any form, whether they be a call to action or an implied threat," she wrote. "There is no place for hate or intolerance at any of our dealerships."
Speaking of the protest action, Beshear said that decisions had consequences. He did not specifically address the termination of Terry's employment but said the incident "happened in ways to create and show hate to numerous other people in America."
He also criticized a group of protesters calling for his resignation for marching to the door of the Governor's Mansion with their demand. He said they used "an action intended to use fear to get their way" and had carried out "a celebration of assassination on our Capitol grounds." Beshear said he would not allow their actions to intimidate him.
"I will not be afraid. I will not be bullied. And I will not back down," he said.
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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