Richard Moore Sr., a firefighter at New Ashford Volunteer Fire Department in western Massachusetts, was added to the Roll Call page by Chris Hill in January.
Moore, who belongs to a group called Three Percenters Massachusetts, said he decided to leave the Roll Call group after he saw people posting about the FBI. He also said he doesn’t plan to attend the Nov. 9 rally.
“To be honest, rallies stir the pot,” he said. “I personally don’t think it does anything but cause fights.”
Moore said Three Percenters Massachusetts focuses on protecting constitutional rights, particularly the right to bear arms. Members lobby the state legislature and speak to local elected officials.
“I personally can’t speak for anybody; I don’t have any prejudice,” Moore said. “If you’re an immigrant and you come legally, that’s fine.”
As the product of an interracial marriage himself, Moore said he’s an example of why the perception that Three Percenters are racist is misplaced.
“My grandmother was a racist,” he said. “She used to tell people I wasn’t half and half; I was Italian. I grew up around a lot of bigoted people.”
Moore said he leads classes on survival and disaster preparedness for a community emergency response team that’s certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In late August, Moore disclosed on Chris Hill’s Facebook page that he had been contacted by a reporter concerning his involvement with the Roll Call group.
Wayne Buckley, the chief at the New Ashford Fire Department, said Moore joined the department as a Marine Corps veteran with combat experience in Afghanistan because he wanted more training and wanted to become a firefighter.
“I’ll ask him about this,” Buckley said. “We do have a social media policy. If somebody is found to be posting hateful, bigoted stuff, they’re done. If someone starts spouting racist shit, I punch ’em in the mouth.
“He might be better off blocking that party,” Buckley said of Chris Hill. “If it’s domestic terrorism against other races and religions, he should definitely stay away from it.
“If somebody in our department is posting hateful discrimination stuff, we call ’em on it, and we usually take him off the department,” the chief added. “I know Rich pretty good. I’ll tell him: You might be better off blocking this guy.”
No comments:
Post a Comment