Court Upholds Dismissal of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Officer for “Crass Statements on …

From Wenzler v. U.S. Coast Guard , decided today by Seventh Circuit Judge Michael Scudder, joined by Judges Amy St. Eve and Joshua Kolar: James Wenzler posted a series of crass statements on LinkedIn while serving as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and depicting himself in uniform. The Auxiliary investigated, told him to stop, and removed him from its ranks after he failed to heed its warning…. James Wenzler joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2007. He held various positions over the years, eventually becoming a Vice Flotilla Commander. Wenzler publicized his affiliation with the organization on LinkedIn. His profile depicted him in uniform and represented that he served as the Auxiliary’s Branch Chief for Human Resources. In May 2022, a member of the public complained to the Auxiliary about Wenzler’s LinkedIn posts. One of the posts accused certain Supreme Court Justices of being racist, and another included a crude remark about the Girl Scouts. Here are the details on the posts, from the district court opinion: The first [post] was in response to a post congratulating Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Wenzler’s responsive post read: “Another racist makes the court to join racist Sotom[a]yor and Kag[a]n. Great job
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