Koran burner family man fired by NJ Transit, NY Civil Liberties Union says his rights were likely violated-NYDN

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Update: NJ Governor Chris Christie approves of the firing. Welcome to Sharia Law. AP, Trenton, via WCAX.com

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(Note, the article says the burning took place outside the planned mosque, but that doesn't describe it quite as I understood the area to be. The area around the discussed mosque site was completely inaccessible and blocked by police at the time. You would not have been allowed to stand in front of it. As the picture above which accompanied the article shows, the Koran burner is among a crowd of others gathered to remember all that was lost on 9/11/01. Attendees were confined to a very specific area on one street near Ground Zero by numerous police blockades. You couldn't just roam around the area. The act took place in view of empty space that is the former World Trade Center. The planned mosque was not within view at the site to which ralliers were confined. I attended the rally myself and witnessed the area, the many streets blocked off, and heavy police presence. ed.)

• 9/14, "Koran burner Derek Fenton booted from his job at NJ Transit," NY Daily News

"The protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday.

• Derek Fenton's 11-year career at the agency came to an abrupt halt Monday after photographs of him ripping pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them ablaze appeared in newspapers.

NJ Transit said Fenton was fired but wouldn't give specifics.

"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said.

• "NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."

Fenton was ushered from the protests by police on Saturday and questioned, but he was released without charges.

• "He said, 'This is America,' and he wanted to stand up for it, in a Tea Party kind of way," a police source said.

Another police source said Fenton described himself as a "loyal American" exercising his "right to protest."...

Described by neighbors as a likable family guy with two children, Fenton was an assistant train-consist coordinator, sources said - a job that entails ensuring there are enough train cars positioned to be put into service. He previously worked as an NJ Transit conductor.

• Several neighbors in Fenton's town stood up for his right to express himself with flames.

"Good for him for burning the Koran," neighbor Jacqui Marquez, 40, said.

• "Everybody's entitled to their opinion ... by firing him, they're sending a message that there's no freedom of speech. They're completely wrong for doing this."

"He's a family man," neighbor Randy McConnell, 43, said.

• "He loves his kids and he loves trains. I don't agree with what he did, but he shouldn't lose his job over it. That's his right."

If Fenton was fired for burning the Koran while off-duty, his First Amendment rights probably were violated,

• Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union said.

"The Supreme Court has recognized a constitutional right to burn the flag. As reprehensible as it may

• be, burning the Koran would be protected as well.""

via Drudge Report