A Chattanooga, Tennessee, transit agency fired a part-time conductor after a Fourth of July passenger announcement spread online and triggered a debate over workplace speech and patriotic expression.
Jack Peterson, a part-time conductor at Chattanooga’s historic Incline Railway, lost his position after passengers complained about comments he made while welcoming riders on Independence Day.
Video shared on various social media platforms showed Peterson addressing passengers aboard the Incline Railway, a 131-year-old attraction that transports visitors up and down Lookout Mountain.
In the recording, Peterson wished a small number of American passengers a happy Independence Day before welcoming other riders and saying the United States was “the greatest country on the face of the planet” while adding that those who disagreed could leave.
The comments quickly drew criticism online after passenger Nathan Scherer posted the video, which spread widely on TikTok.
Scherer and his family were visiting Chattanooga and said they were uncomfortable with the remarks.
His father, Charles Scherer, said he reported the incident because he wanted the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), which operates the Incline Railway, to know about the employee’s comments.
CARTA officials said the agency reviewed the incident and terminated Peterson the same day.
Scott Wilson, CARTA’s chief of staff, apologized to passengers who witnessed the remarks and said the comments did not represent the organization’s values.
Wilson said the Incline Railway has welcomed visitors from Chattanooga and around the world for more than a century and that the agency has “zero tolerance” for language that demeans or excludes passengers, according to News Channel 9.
Peterson defended his remarks, saying they were intended as a patriotic message celebrating Independence Day rather than an attack on visitors from other countries.
“I’m very patriotic it was the USA’s Independence Day. I was celebrating with my fellow Americans (native or non-native),” he told the outlet. “I truly do believe we are the greatest country on earth. My statement about if you dont like the country and dont believe we are the best then you can leave is a freedom of the ISA that many other countries do not have.”
“It is not a racist or xenophobic thing to say,” he added. “If you dont believe in making this country better then why are you here?”
The firing has divided public opinion.
Critics argued that employees representing public transportation agencies have a responsibility to ensure all passengers feel welcome, especially at a major tourist attraction visited by people from different backgrounds.
Supporters of Peterson argued that his comments reflected patriotic expression on a national holiday and questioned whether termination was an excessive response, according to NRI Pulse.
Following the controversy, Peterson also launched a GoFundMe fundraiser seeking financial support after losing his job.
According to the fundraiser page, the campaign had raised nearly $2,000 as of Wendesday afternoon.
The Incline Railway incident comes amid broader national debates over the limits of workplace speech, employee conduct, and how public-facing organizations handle controversial statements.
While CARTA maintained that Peterson’s remarks violated the standards expected of its employees, Peterson and his supporters argued that the comments represented a lawful expression of American pride on Independence Day.
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