PRESS RELEASE: CAIR-Chicago applauds TSA’s removal of bigoted employee

(CHICAGO, 11/16/11) — The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) commends the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for taking decisive action against an employee who publically spewed racist and bigoted rants against Muslims, African Americans, Latinos, and Homosexuals. Roy Egan had worked at O’Hare airport for nine years where he checked passenger baggage. Egan was suspended in October and his employment was terminated this month. Egan used his Facebook page, where he openly identified himself as a TSA officer, to post violent and hateful comments such as:

“FILTHY MUSLIM,” Muslims “need to be exterminated”, “BURN ISLAM”, “Islam, a cult that glorifies death,” and ”Does anything at all make you smile more than a Muslim burning by his own hateful hand.”

He also posted hateful remarks about President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Attorney General Eric Holder, whom he said should “die tasting your own blood.”

SEE VIDEO: TSA Officer Fired Over Anti-Muslim Facebook Posts (CAIR)

CAIR-Chicago representatives met with TSA leadership in Chicago three weeks ago to convey the concerns of the Muslim community about the incident and to ask that more be done to prevent future incidents from happening.

“We made it clear that Egan’s discourse was as much an embarrassment to the agency and the values it stands for, as it was an affront against Muslims and other minorities,” said Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director. “By the end of the meeting, we felt convinced that the TSA leadership takes such violations of its code of conduct very seriously and that they genuinely set out to do their utmost to ensure that all constituents are treated with fairness and respect.”

“The TSA works hard everyday to keep Americans safe,” said Amina Sharif, CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator. “When such egregious behavior is flagged on the part of one of their agents, it breeds confidence in us as passengers that it is dealt with as swiftly and as seriously as it was in the case of Roy Egan.”

Egan was in violation of the TSA code of conduct which stipulates that its employees- on or off duty- behave in a manner that avoids causing the public to raise questions about their judgment and ability to enforce the mission of the agency.

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CAIR-Chicago is a chapter of America’s largest Muslim civil rights group, which has over 30 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to promote justice, enhance the understanding of Islam, and empower American Muslims.