Activists gathered at the Brooklyn courthouse Wednesday, demanding the firing of a court officer, Terri Napolitano, over a controversial Facebook post. It showed President Obama being lynched with Hillary Clinton next in line for hanging.

"She posted on social media a picture of our president, Barack Obama, in a noose that said, 'Traitor, we will not yield,'” Rev. Taharka Robinson, founder of the Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coalition, said at the protest.
 

What You Need To Know


  • Demonstrators demand a Brooklyn court officer be fired for a Facebook post depicting the lynching of President Obama.

  • The Office of Court Administration suspended Sergeant Terri Napolitano for 30 days without pay, took away her gun, and launched an investigation.

  • Napolitano deleted her social media accounts because of the controversy.

  • The results of the investigation and recommendations for any punishment are expected next month.


"The audacity of a court officer to take and post something to show a noose around a former president's neck, or to talk about the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, it's an abomination," former Assemblywoman Annette Robinson said.

Napolitano, who's a sergeant, works at the Criminal Court building on Schemerhorn Street. The state Office of Court Administration suspended her without pay for 30 days, took away her gun, and launched an investigation.

"She deserves her pension to be taken away,” said attorney Noemi Pizzini-Neal. “She should feel the heat."

"I would like to see an open public hearing so we could hear what went on, what she posted, why she posted, and if there was anybody else involved," said attorney Steve Braunstein with the Kings County Criminal Bar Association.

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Napolitano has taken down the controversial Facebook post. She has the option of requesting an administrative hearing if she objects to the investigation's findings and any recommended punishment.

Napolitano has deleted her social media accounts and could not be reached for comment.

In addition to termination, the group is also calling for systemic change. It wants diversity training for all officers and their supervisors.

"There is a lack of minorities -- Puerto Rican and Latinos, African Americans, Asians -- in the court administration," said attorney Carmen Pacheco, a previous president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association. 

"They need to respect us," said attorney Edward King. "And this court officer that decided that Barack Obama's neck be in a noose, is not the kind of person we want in the court."

“We also need to have better screening," Rev. Robinson added. "How do bigots gets hired in this capacity?"

A deputy chief administrative judge is expected to announce the outcome of the investigation next month.

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