A Palm Beach County building inspector, suspended after allegedly shouting “Heil Hitler” and making a Nazi salute toward another motorist during an apparent road-rage incident on Aug. 22, has been fired.
The investigation into the incident is continuing, according to county officials, but the employee was terminated on Aug. 28, said John Jamason, the county's interim director of public affairs. The employee has until Sept. 4 to appeal.
County Human Resources Director David Kahn declined to identify the employee. Kahn said the employee has received threats.
The allegation surfaced after StopAntisemitism, a national advocacy group that monitors antisemitic incidents, shared a photograph in a social media post showing the county employee making what
appeared to be a Nazi salute toward what the post said was a Jewish driver.
The post quickly gained widespread attention online.
County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said the county immediately launched an investigation after learning of the allegations.
“Any employee who engages in antisemitic conduct should understand one thing extremely clearly. If they haven’t been paying attention, they have the wrong county administrator for that kind of conduct. There is no place for antisemitism, hatred or discrimination in Palm Beach County government,” Abruzzo said.
A similar admonishment is being echoed in Central Florida as well.
On Aug. 29, spectators at a mixed martial arts fight at the Kia Center in downtown Orlando were seen waving a Nazi flag and making Nazi salutes in viral social media videos.
"Symbols of hate, including the Nazi flag, were brought to Kia Center this weekend," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer wrote in a social media post in response. "But hate will never be welcome here. Our community will continue to stand against antisemitism and all forms of hate to ensure that Orlando is a place where every person is valued and respected."
Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County fires building inspector over Nazi salute incident
