A Black security guard who says she punched a white Trump supporter in self-defense during the contentious evening on Washington, D.C., streets the night
Helena Duke identified her mother in a viral tweet as a woman who was shown in a video being punched in the face during a confrontation the night prior to the insurrection in Washington. And she does not have any regrets.
Yes, Anyone Can Be Fired For Taking Part In A Violent Mob
Pro-Trump extremists climb the West wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
UMass Memorial Health Care employee Therese Duke lost her job this week after a viral video appeared to show her assaulting a police officer during last Wednesdayâs riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Experts say Duke s case is more clear-cut, since she was an employee at a private company and was caught on camera seemingly engaged in violence. But even public employees who are protected by their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble could be at risk of losing their jobs for so much as taking part in such violent demonstrations, according to labor attorneys who spoke to GBH News.
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“The way we really look at it is that UMass Memorial is really part of the fabric of the community, and we rely on the community as much as the community relies on us,” said Catheryn McEvoy, vice president of communications at UMMHC Health Care, and a prior co-chair of the event.
A black-tie event, the fundraiser is at once an opportunity to support the hospital network financially as it is a chance for the region s movers and shakers to gather in one space.
In 2020, of course, normal plans for a 450-person gala event were upended, and the event planners switched to a 90-minute virtual program. With donations still trickling in, McEvoy said the event is close to raising $1 million, about half of what it raised in each of the past two years.