LA CROSSE, WI (AP) - -
A University of Wisconsin-La Crosse police dispatcher says she was fired for supporting President Donald Trump.
On Monday, the university human resources director Madeline Holzem sent a letter sent to Kimberly Dearman on Monday asking her to resign or be terminated.
The letter says Dearman was investigated after a complaint from a colleague and was found to have violated university employee policies against unbecoming conduct and abusive or threatening language.
Dearman's lawyer, Lee Fehr, told the UW System Board of Regents that his client's comments in support of Trump's travel ban were spurred by an email from the university's chancellor, Joe Gow. The email sent to faculty, students and staff rebuked the president's move.
Gow says Dearman wasn't fired for her political opinions. He told WXOW in a statement Wednesday, "We would never terminate employees for political beliefs. We follow a due process for employee firings based on job perfromance."
Dearman's attorney accuses Gow of having a history of stifling the protected speech of students and employees who do not share his political views. Fehr writes that Gow should resign if political speech is offensive and abusive.