ACLU questions firing of McKee staff member over support for Palestine

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island released a statement Tuesday after a Gov. Dan McKee staffer was fired for showing support for Palestine during the conflict in the Middle East.

The statement was largely in support of Miguel Sanchez, who has been vocal on social media of his support of Palestine, which some consider controversial.

Sanchez sat down with ABC 6 News on Monday, and said he was shocked when he was given the decision to resign from his role or be terminated by the governor’s office.

He has maintained that his intention behind the posts was to use his platform as an elected official to speak out on violence against any civilian.

“It’s hard to believe that a Democratic governor would fire someone for speaking out for basic human rights and against the killing of innocent civilians, but that’s exactly what happened to me this week,” Sanchez said in part on X.

Sanchez described an obligation to his constituents to speak on issues like injustice, something he said was part of his campaign.

McKee’s office said Friday was Sanchez’s last day.

A spokesperson released the following statement, in part:

“The governor’s position on Israel is clear. The governor has unequivocally condemned the despicable acts of war and terror perpetrated by Hamas against the people of Israel. The governor also agrees with the President that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in safety and peace.”

Both Sanchez and the ACLU questioned the specific reasoning for the decision to fire him, pointing out that he was not a spokesperson for the governor.

“We recognize that there are certain limited circumstances where the scope of free speech protection extended to government officials is reduced, but it is not obvious from Mr. Sanchez’s job responsibilities that they apply here or justify the extreme action of termination,” the ACLU said.

The ACLU called on McKee to clarify the relationship between the views expressed by Sanchez and his job duties and responsibilities.

ABC 6 reached back out to McKee’s office.

The following is the full statement released by the ACLU:

“We have received a number of inquiries about the legality of Governor McKee’s decision to fire Miguel Sanchez due to his expression on social media of his personal views about the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The ACLU of Rhode Island finds it concerning any time that a government employee is punished for the private exercise of their First Amendment rights. We recognize that there are certain limited circumstances where the scope of free speech protection extended to government officials is reduced, but it is not obvious from Mr. Sanchez’s job responsibilities that they apply here or justify the extreme action of termination.

While the governor has made clear his vehement disagreement with the views expressed by Mr. Sanchez, we believe he should also clarify how those personally expressed views compromise the ability of either of them to discharge their public duties so as to warrant the sanction of firing. It is this factor, not merely strong disagreement with an employee’s personal, off-hours expression of controversial views, that should be key, and which is essential to prevent a chilling impact on the exercise of free speech by others in his administration.”