'I'm not racist': Oklahoma nurse who called for lynching of Black man sues hospital after losing job

A nurse in Oklahoma is suing his former employer after he was fired over a Facebook post that called for the lynching of a Black man.

The Oklahomanreported that 41-year-old Kevin Murnan has filed a lawsuit against Norman Regional Hospital, where he worked for 19 years.

The hospital fired Murnan on Aug. 27 after he allegedly wrote a Facebook post about the shooting of a 5-year-old boy.

"Get a big tall tree and a short piece of rope!" the post said.

Murnan's attorney, Jack Tracy, told the paper that his client is not a racist.

"Kevin says, 'I am not racist. I'm not racist. You know, some of my best friends are Black,'" Tracy explained to The Oklahoman on Friday. "I think they did him wrong... They've got some very fine doctors there. And I think very highly of them. But this is a matter of principle."

"You just don't go around and fire people for things on Facebook. He didn't call him an 'n,'" he added.

But the hospital is asking Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman to dismiss the lawsuit.

"Set against the backdrop of the death of George Floyd and the nation's racial tensions boiling over in the summer of 2020, it is clear why the plaintiff's employment could not continue after that post drew scathing criticism from a member of the community who brought it to the attention of Defendant," attorneys for the hospital told the judge.

"Murnan's post was short and to the point, resorting to a tried and true symbol of racism in America — the lynching of African Americans," the attorneys added.

Murnan's lawsuit is seeking $1.2 million and asks the court to block the hospital from firing people who espouse ideas that are "inconsistent with their liberal agenda."