ACLU says employee is being punished for exercising free speech
Derek Fenton, an 11-year NJ Transit employee, was fired after he attended a Sept. 11 rally protesting the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan. It was his day off and he did not identify himself as an NJ Transit employee. While there, Fenton burned three pages of the Quran.TRENTON — The firing of a Quran-burning New Jersey Transit worker last year has morphed into a legal battle over free speech. But Gov. Chris Christie, in his first public comments on the case, said today he’s not worrying about it.
"I knew he was going to be fired, and I had no problem with it," Christie said during a Statehouse press conference. "And I still don't have a problem with it."
Derek Fenton, 40, of Bloomingdale, lost his job after burning pages of the Quran during a protest on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The American Civil Liberties Union said Fenton is being punished for exercising free speech, and Fenton has sued to get his job back.
But NJ Transit said Fenton violated the agency's code of ethics.
"That kind of intolerance is something I think is unacceptable. So I don't have any problem with him being fired," Christie said. "You've got to make decisions in this job. I made one."
However, he said he did not ask for Fenton to be fired.
Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey, said Christie made an unconstitutional mistake.
"It's surprising that the governor has acknowledged that he agrees with the wrongheaded and unconstitutional firing of Mr. Fenton for exercising his fundamental rights," she said. "Why would a smart lawyer like the governor throw good resources after bad decision-making by defending this suit?"
Frank Corrado, a lawyer for Fenton, declined to comment on Christie's remarks.
Christie and some of his top administration officials were named in court last week as connected to Fenton's firing. The state, as part of the discovery process involving the lawsuit, disclosed that Christie and five others from the governor's office have "information concerning the decision to discharge Fenton."
Corrado has called them "potential witnesses in the case."
Christie, asked about the ACLU's lawsuit, said, "I don't worry much about the ACLU."
Said Jacobs, "While he might not worry about us, we worry about a governor that demonstrates utter disregard for freedom of speech."