KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has deemed the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security guilty of discrimination in the firing of a Sunni Muslim state trooper.
The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1D0t7od ) reports that U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled in June that the agency violated the rights of De'Ossie Dingus by firing him in 2010 after the 10-year highway patrol veteran was dubbed a budding terrorist without any proof.
Military liaison Maj. Kevin Taylor labeled Dingus a potential terrorist after a 2009 encounter in which Dingus complained about the airing of a training video on the radicalization of children.
Campbell did not award Dingus the roughly $300,000 he sought in damages, saying he did not support his claims.
Department of Safety spokeswoman Dalya Qualls says the agency had no comment on the ruling.