Brevard public defender fired, says Black Lives Matter tie raised eyebrows

An assistant public defender who sported a Black Lives Matter tie to court and to the office says he was fired this week after complaining online about what he believes is an overtly political atmosphere at the Brevard County public defender’s office.

Alton Edmond, 27, a Cocoa resident who handled misdemeanor division cases for the agency, was escorted by two armed investigators from the office Wednesday after someone printed out Edmond's Facebook posts and delivered them to Public Defender Blaise Trettis’ office for Trettis to read.

Edmond was hired last April. He was one of three minority attorneys in the Brevard Public Defender's office, an agency that has 42 attorneys representing criminal defendants.

“It is accurate to say he was fired. But it was an accumulation of things ... the tie had no significance in his firing,” Trettis told FLORIDA TODAY.

“People can talk about politics, of course. But there’s a big difference about talking politics and wearing politics on your tie.”

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The controversial Black Lives Matter movement is a loosely organized grassroots effort highlighting systemic disenfranchisement and police-involved shootings. Edmond said he was showing support in principle as an attorney who represents poor clients.

In recent years the movement has been seen as more of a political entity drawing thousands of people to rallies across the nation. The issue also has gotten several attorneys in trouble nationwide. Last September, in a similar case, a Las Vegas defense attorney refused to remove a Black Lives Matter button after a judge condemned the pin as political speech and demanded it be removed.

The attorney cited free speech in refusing. In Ohio, another attorney wearing a Black Lives Matter pin was jailed on contempt charges after she refused to take it off.

Edmond, who is the choir director at Mt. Moriah AME Church in Cocoa and a motivational speaker, said he wore the black and purple tie several times, including in court without any issues or comments from a judge. He said he believes it is his First Amendment right.

"This was my way of representing a struggle. It's very personal to me," he said.

While at the public defender’s office in Viera around the time of the presidential election, a secretary spotted the tie and told him, "No, all lives matter," prompting a discussion, Edmond said.

“I think this situation has made it clear to me that there is some intolerance in the public defender’s office. People in the office are overly sensitive, very conservative and talked openly about their support of (President) Trump. Even the public defender, he was at a Trump rally last year, in the front row,” he said.

Trettis, a Republican, confirmed he did attend the Sept. 27, 2016, rally that drew more than 10,000 people to hear Trump at Orlando Melbourne International Airport.

“I did go, but if that’s a criticism, it’s absurd. The big difference is that what I did was not during work hours or at a work place," Trettis said. "Whatever he wants to do in his own time, that’s his business. It’s not right for an attorney to be wearing that in the courthouse.”

He also fended off criticism that his office was intolerant or overly political. "I've actually hired more minorities than the other firms," he said.

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Trettis said he admonished Edmond about the tie but that other issues played a role in the dismissal – including an episode in which Edmond recorded his colleagues talking about politics and another instance in which he left behind a loaded gun on the desk in his office before he went to court. 

Trettis said he was told Edmond posted the recording of his colleagues on his Facebook page but quickly removed it. Edmond said he was recording himself and posted it online, but took it down when he learned it picked up the voices of his colleagues.

Edmond said he knows the recording and the gun – which he apologized for hastily leaving behind in his closed office – were part of the reasons he was let go from the $43,000 a year job. He has a concealed carry permit, like several other employees at the office. He said he closed his office door, but another employee went in without permission. The gun, which is allowed in the office with a permit, was returned to Edmond.

The last straw, Trettis said, were recent Facebook posts the millennial attorney made regarding what he felt was discrimination against him for wearing the tie. The posts were printed out and left for Trettis to read.

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“He was posting on Facebook during working hours and the posts were about me. When you’re at work, criticizing your boss, that’s not a good thing,” Trettis said, adding that he did not put any of the admonitions or the reason for termination in writing.

Edmond contends his postings were not made during his work hours. He said his focus now is opening a private practice.

“I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was 5 years old,” he said.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and on Twitter at @JDGallop