South Carolina fire chief axed for threatening BLM protesters: I'll run over their 'dumb asses'

A Columbia Fire Department captain is out of a job after taking to Facebook and threatening to run over Black Lives Matter activists who were protesting raising the Confederate flag at the state house by a secessionist group, reports the Charlotte Observer.

Capt. Jimmy Morris, a 16-year veteran of the fire department, was dismissed after his superiors were alerted about two Facebook posts he wrote Sunday night.

As reports came in that protesters had blocked the I-126 freeway late Sunday afternoon, Morris wrote: “Idiots shutting down I-126. Better not be there when I get off work or there is gonna be some run over dumb asses.”

One hour later he updated his Facebook page with, "Public Service Announcement: If you attempt to shut down an interstate, highway, etc on my way home, you best hope I’m not one of the first vehicles in line because your ass WILL get run over! Period! That is all...."

According to Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins that was enough to fire Morris, saying his comments on Facebook do not “represent views of the Columbia Fire Department nor the City of Columbia.”

“It was totally inappropriate to post that type of post,” Jenkins said, adding that the turmoil over the shootings in Baton Rouge, St. Paul and Dallas made them wildly inappropriate.

Jenkins also noted that Morris, who is white, works out of a firehouse that serves a predominately minority neighborhood and that the post by the fireman prompted threatening calls to the station house.

"We are honored and proud to live and participate in the communities we serve,” said Jenkins. “Unfortunately, a member of the Columbia Fire Department has discredited the reputation of the men and women who serve this Department.”

Morris wasn't the only civil servant who is out of a job because of Facebook comments.

A Savannah, Georgia EMT was also dismissed for using racial slurs, obscenities and advocating for "white power" on Facebook over the weekend.

The name of the Savannah first responder was not released.