LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An individual seen participating in the hanging of Gov. Andy Beshear's effigy on Sunday at the Kentucky Capitol has been fired by their employer.
The Neil Huffman Automotive Group announced the firing on Twitter Tuesday evening after an internal investigation.
A statement from Neil Huffman Auto Group on May 26, 2020. pic.twitter.com/Lh61SwhVsf
— Neil Huffman Automotive Group (@NeilHuffman) May 26, 2020
"The Neil Huffman Auto Group does not condone threats of violence in any form, whether they be a call to action or an implied threat. Following an internal investigation on this matter, the employee was terminated. There is no place for hate or intolerance at any of our dealerships," said Shannon Huffman, the company's HR manager.
The identity of the individual has not been released and it is unclear which dealership he or she may have worked at.
A protest for gun rights at the Capitol on Sunday included attendees hanging a Beshear effigy from a tree near the governor's mansion.
Beshear on Tuesday condemned the hanging as "a message of intolerance and of hate" perpetrated by "a bunch of jerks."
Video recordings and photographs show the effigy suspended from a tree with a sign reading “Sic Semper Tyrannis," the Lexington Herald Leader reported. The Latin phrase means "thus always to tyrants" and is an apparent protest of Beshear's coronavirus restrictions.
Beshear, a Democrat, also partially blamed the demonstration on “multiple state representatives and a state senator” who had attended an earlier rally involving the same the crowd.
“You cannot fan the flames and then condemn the fire,” Beshear said.
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