FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Following a series of social media posts from Fort Wayne’s firefighters’ union aimed at department leadership, Mayor Sharon Tucker criticized the union for spreading misinformation and fueling public anger.
In one recent thread on Fort Wayne Metro Firefighters 124’s social media post, a commenter posted a photo of a noose with the message, “Get the ******* rope,” WANE reported. The union has since deleted such comments.
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“I think it’s very dangerous when we have a plethora of misinformation,” Tucker said. “It causes people to form opinions that are void of total facts, and those opinions can lead to the rhetoric that we’re seeing right now, which is very dangerous.”
Tucker said the concerns have been referred to the Fort Wayne Police Department, but her office has not spoken directly with the union about the social media posts.
The latest dispute between the department and the union comes amid a wider debate over free speech following social media reactions to the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. In response, Fort Wayne Metro Firefighters 124 issued the following statement to WANE:
“City leaders have chosen to focus on a few stray public comments on our social media instead of the serious concerns we’ve raised. While many citizens share our alarm over the City’s decisions, City officials ignore those voices and deflect from the real issues, including the serious, questionable actions of Fire Chief Eric Lahey.
We do not condone language that is inflammatory, threatening, or violent. The moment we learned of the inappropriate comments, we removed them.
The City claims our statements tell only part of the truth. We challenge City leaders to set a public, recorded forum where citizens can hear both sides and decide for themselves. We’ll bring the receipts, every document and fact to back our claims, so bring yours.
Every concern we’ve posted was first submitted formally to the City. After months with no meaningful response, we are left with one option: to inform the public how these failures endanger Fort Wayne’s firefighters and the community we serve.
Our mission remains clear, to speak the truth, protect our firefighters, and demand the answers the City promised but has yet to deliver.”
