Maryland official fired for social media posts defends actions, says he will pursue legal options

The Maryland official fired over the weekend for posting “divisive” memes, statements and images on social media — including several supportive of the Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooting suspect — said he does not regret his actions and will seek all possible legal remedies for his termination.

At a Monday news conference held outside a West Baltimore elementary school, Arthur “Mac” Love IV, the former deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, said he stands by his constitutional rights to freedom of speech and should not have been penalized for expressing his opinion online.

At issue is Love’s sharing of several posts, both on his personal page and in a Maryland Facebook group about politics, sympathizing with the Kenosha shooting suspect, who is accused of killing two people and injuring another amid unrest at a protest held in support of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, whom Kenosha police shot seven times in front of his children Aug. 23.

Love reposted pictures that appear to show the shooting suspect, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, cleaning graffiti. The original poster wrote: “I’m grateful that conservatives are rallying behind this kid. He genuinely seems like a good person.” It goes on to denigrate the two men Rittenhouse is charged with killing.

Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-maryland-official-fired-kenosha-memes-20200831-yzxnl4nslvfsve4eehpqdmn3ui-story.html