Arthur "Mac" Love IV, an official with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's administration was fired Saturday for posting memes on Facebook supporting Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged in the shooting deaths of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Montgomery County Delegate Eric Luedtke reported one of the posts he saw online, which showed a smiling police officer with two thumbs up, and the caption "don't be a thug if you can't take a slug!" reports The Baltimore Sun.
Luedtke called on the governor to fire Love, who as deputy director of the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives oversaw the Commission on African American History and Culture.
Love also wrote online he was "grateful that conservatives are rallying" behind Rittenhouse, as he "genuinely seems like a good person."
He also shared a meme showing protesters with a caption reading "defund the police! We can police our own communities," according to the Sun, which noted Love's account appeared no longer be active Monday.
It also reportedly contained a photo of Rittenhouse holding a gun and saying he "policed his community," and a meme mocking liberals for accusing him of being a white supremacist, the Sun reports.
Steve McAdams, the director of the Office of Community Initiatives, said in a statement Saturday the "divisive images and statements" were not consistent with the mission and core values of the office, and he had "relieved this employee of his duties."
Love had been with the administration since Hogan took office in 2015, and Maryland State delegate Darryl Barnes told Maryland Matters there was "no sense" for his actions.
A fundraiser online has raised $815 for Love, who reportedly earned $77,000 last year, saying his freedom of speech had been violated and he was being harassed and bullied.
Love, meanwhile, addressed the controversy Saturday by showing vandalized buildings in Raleigh, North Carolina, and demanding people "wake up," and saying those on the left will "try to get you fired from your job for speaking truth," reports the Sun. "It's better to be fired for being honest than the LIE."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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