Woman who flipped off presidential motorcade sues former company that fired her
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Virginia cyclist who was fired for flipping off the presidential motorcade last fall is now suing her former employer, reports said Wednesday.
Juli Briskman, 50, sued Virginia-based Akima LLC, the government contracting firm that terminated her, The Washington Post reported.
“I filed this lawsuit against my former employer today because I believe that Americans should not be forced to choose between their principles and their paychecks,” Briskman said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In October last year, a photograph that caught her middle-fingered salute went viral. The marketing executive reportedly vowed she would do it all over again if given the chance, and believes she was exercising her first amendment rights.
Briskman said, in an interview after the incident, her bosses told her she violated the company's social media policy because she used the photo as her profile pic, The Hill reported.
Akima did not immediately respond to The Post for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Briskman claims that when Akima “forced her out,” the company promised four weeks of severance pay, but only gave her two. She is suing for that amount plus attorney’s fee and interest for a total of $2,692.30, The Post reported.