The Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Courthouse, home of the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Virginia. (Acroterion via Wikipedia) RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A retired Air Force officer’s use of a racial slur toward a Black store clerk did not fall within the “fighting words” exception to free speech protection, the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday. A U.S. magistrate judge found Lt. Col. Jules Bartow guilty under Virginia’s abusive language statute in a case stemming from a series of rhetorical questions — that included a racial slur — Bartow posed to a store clerk in 2018. Cathy Johnson-Felder, a Black sales associate at the Marine Corps Exchange store in Quantico, Virginia, testified that she was involved in a heated exchange with Bartow while he tried on boots. The exchange started off badly, with Johnson-Felder wishing Bartow a good morning.