Louisiana police officers fired over Facebook post suggesting AOC should be shot

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Two Louisiana police officers were fired Monday over a recent social media post that appeared to call for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to be shot.

Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson told reporters Monday his department terminated Officer Charlie Rispoli for posting the anti-Ocasio-Cortez message on Facebook and Officer Angelo Varisco for "liking" the post.

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"This vile idiot needs a round," the Thursday post by Rispoli said, "and I don't mean the kind she used to serve," a reference to Ocasio-Cortez's time spent working as a bartender before she joined Congress.

Lawson said the department launched an internal investigation of the matter after the post was reported in the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. "It’s very disappointing," Lawson said.

The chief said that both men cooperated with the investigation and that the post has been taken down. The department also contacted Facebook to see if any other officers were linked to the post, he said.

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Lawson said he does not think the officers meant to encourage violence, but that the message still crossed the line.

"Whether it was a joke or it wasn’t a joke, it was improper to make a comment like that, to insinuate a violent act against an individual, against an elected official, against a seated U.S. congressman," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.