PPSO deputy fired over ties to alleged hate group

A Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy has been fired after he was linked on social media to a controversial group called the Proud Boys.

Patrol Deputy Brian Green was terminated Thursday after an internal investigation by the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Officials with the Sheriff’s Office said they received a complaint on Facebook the previous week about Green, whose Facebook page and social media activity linked him to the fraternal organization known as the Proud Boys.

Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich Jr. said at the time that the internal investigation would determine whether the group is a hate or white supremacy group.

While the group’s viewpoints were not determined by the investigation, officials determined that Green had violated the social media policy of the Sheriff’s Office. It details that personnel cannot engage in social media activities that “negatively affect the public perception of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office” or engage in speech “that would reasonably be considered reckless or irresponsible.”

“Green’s affiliation (with) and promotion of the organization known as the Proud Boys while in uniform inevitably affected the public trust bestowed upon him and questioned the values of the Sheriff’s Office,” officials said in a statement.

Investigators said Green hadn’t received a public complaint or been subject to disciplinary action in the five years he was with the Sheriff’s Office. However, they said the former deputy’s decision to use his uniform to promote the Proud Boys, “whose values are contradictory to the values and the vision of the PPSO, will not be tolerated.”

“PPSO does not support the organization or its ideals, and law enforcement in general has an obligation to treat all people equally, fairly and impartially. These are values everyone should practice despite their religious or political views,” officials said.

According to Wikipedia, Proud Boys is a far-right men’s organization with presences in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder and former commentator Gavin McInnes. McInnes describes the group as a “pro-Western fraternal organization” for men who “refuse to apologize for creating the modern world.” Proud Boys has been described as both alt-right and alt-lite; McInnes has reportedly denied the group is alt-right.

The group takes its name from the showtune “Proud of Your Boy,” a song introduced in the 2011 stage-show version of Disney’s “Aladdin” in which the title character apologizes to his mother.

This article originally published in the August 20, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.