Georgetown County firefighter fired over racist, COVID-19 hoax social media posts
A Georgetown County firefighter was fired over social media posts — some racist, others that downplayed COVID-19 — officials confirmed.
Bob Kosto shared several posts or wrote his comments on his personal Facebook page that supported far-right ideas. The page has since been taken down.
Kosto could not be immediately reached for comment.
Georgetown County officials said they were unaware of the posts after being contacted by The Sun News on Wednesday. County spokeswoman Jackie Broach later confirmed that Kosto was terminated because of the posts.
One of the posts included a reference to someone who was not a native English speaker. Another post referred to recent protests and called a truck a “protester edition” that appears to have red paint mimicking blood splatter on the front of the vehicle.
In another post on the COVID-19 pandemic, Kosto wrote, “Don’t be the sheep who listen to corrupt government telling you what to do to save your sheep.”
Broach said on Wednesday the county’s Emergency Services Director would review the post. Less than 24 hours later, the county announced his firing.
County employees are entitled to free speech on their personal pages, Broach said, but the county handbook has rules on social media posts.
“Employees are cautioned that they are responsible for the contents of social media posts they make. Posts that contain obscene or harassing material, that are unlawful, that contain personal attacks on coworkers, that reasonably call into question the employee’s judgment, or that reasonably cause concern among the public may result in discipline, up to and including termination from employment. Similarly, conduct that would violate County policies if done in person also violates County policy if done through social media.”
She added the county does “not condone racism in any shape or form.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
