This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
On July 22, 2019, two police officers in Gretna, Louisiana, were terminated from their positions after one of them made a threatening comment about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Facebook.
Charles Rispoli, a 14-year veteran of the Gretna Police Department, wrote a Facebook post suggesting that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez 'needs a round — and I don't mean the kind she used to serve,' a reference to her past work as a bartender.
Angelo Varisco, who joined the department in 2016, liked the post online. Chief Arthur Lawson of the Gretna Police Department announced the terminations, stating that both officers had violated the department's social media policy.
Chief Lawson said, 'This incident has been an embarrassment to our department. These officers have acted unprofessionally, alluding to a violent act against a sitting U.S. congressman.'
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, is a self-described democratic socialist and has been a strong critic of President Trump. She was one of four first-year female Democrats in the House who were told by Mr. Trump to 'go back' to their countries in a Twitter post last week.
Chief Lawson stated that he had trouble understanding Mr. Rispoli's post, especially since the article he shared was satirical. He added that neither officer had patrolled the streets, and Mr. Varisco had provided security for the courts, while Mr. Rispoli had worked in the courts before supervising individuals in the home incarceration program.
The action against the officers in Louisiana came at a time of increased scrutiny of police officers' activity on social media. Last month, researchers with the Plain View Project released a compilation of troubling posts made by public safety officers, which led to investigations and repercussions in several cities.
