Florida cop fired over social media posts supporting Capitol rioters, warning of civil war

A central Florida police officer was fired last week after an internal investigation into his social media activity revealed posts discussing Black Lives Matter protests, showing support for the U.S. Capitol riot and warning another Civil War was imminent.

Andrew Johnson was fired from the Kissimmee Police Department on Jan. 14. He had been on probationary employment since joining the department in March 2020 as a patrol officer. Police Chief Jeffrey O'Dell made the decision to fire Johnson because his social media posts, "do not align with our core values here at the Kissimmee Police Department," a spokeswoman said in a statement to Fox News Sunday.

The department placed Johnson on administrative leave on Jan. 12 after receiving an email from a "concerned citizen" who forwarded 30 screenshots of Facebook posts uploaded by "Drew Johnson."

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The sender described Johnson as "a very big problem" and someone "incapable of doing his job without bias which as we know is a massive problem for police in this country," according to a copy of the internal affairs memorandum supplied to Fox News by the department.

The email also claimed that Johnson's social media posts demonstrate how "he a very big supporter of what happened recently" in Washington, D.C. Screenshots included in the memorandum showed that Johnson posted on Jan. 6 that, "The silent majority will rise!! Day one of the Revolutionary War!! Hang on, it's only just begun."

There was no evidence Johnson participated in the rioting at the U.S. Capitol, only that he reacted.

Another post documented in the investigation was published on Dec. 17 and showed a photo of then-President Trump with the phrase "Justice is Coming." In the caption, Johnson warned of World War III and claimed, "China has deployed troops to Canada."

"Civil War is right around the corner. It’s coming, prepare for it now," Johnson allegedly wrote in another Facebook post in September.

An undated screenshot showed Johnson also posted a receipt for an ammunition order with the caption, "Thanks for my stimulus check!!!"

In August, Johnson allegedly reposted a meme of a disabled parking space with the caption "BLM activists in Wisconsin paint street mural in support of Jacob Blake."

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Blake is a Black man who was left paralyzed after a White police officer in Kenosha, Wisc., shot him in the back on Aug. 23 when police were responding to a report he was trying to steal a car. Wisconsin prosecutors decided just two weeks ago not to charge Officer Rusten Sheskey because investigators concluded Blake was armed with a knife at the time.

The shooting sparked several nights of violent street demonstrations, and Kyle Rittenhouse, then 17, opened fire with an assault-style rifle during a protest on Aug. 25, killing two people and wounding a third. He claimed self-defense and pleaded not guilty to several charges.

Another screenshot showed Johnson shared a meme to his Facebook account in September that read, "A 17-year-old dropped 3 rioters. What do you think 5 or 6 combatives will do?" Above the photo, he wrote, "I'm sayin...," according to the investigation memorandum. 

In another September exchange on social media, Johnson replied to a post by a Black woman who wrote that Americans should "get over" the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Johnson responded, "get over it and move on??? You mean like the whole slavery thing?"

He described LeBron James in another post as a "true piece of [expletive]," for not standing for the national anthem.

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The internal affairs investigation determined Johnson was the authentic author of the posts.

He was not able to contest his termination because he was on probation at the time, having been hired by the department less than a year before the posts came to light, Spectrum News reported.