OMAHA, Neb.\u00a0\u2014 A conservative radio host in Omaha was fired Wednesday after he posted a social media comment criticized as racist minutes after the conviction of a white former Minneapolis police officer for the killing last year of a Black man.\u00a0<\/p>\n
KFAB afternoon radio host Chris Baker posted a since-deleted tweet Tuesday evening in which he wrote “Guilty!” above an image of what appeared to be four older Black men in body paint and loincloths dancing around a pole.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tweet came less than an hour after a jury convicted former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin of murder in the May 25, 2020, killing of George Floyd.<\/p>\n
C. Taylor Walet III, an executive at KFAB owner iHeartRadio, said Wednesday that Baker had been fired over the “completely inappropriate” tweet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Please know that this does not represent our viewpoint or our values, and we take this situation very seriously,” Walet said in a statement. “Accordingly, Chris Baker’s employment with our Company has been terminated.”<\/p>\n
A message left for Baker at KFAB’s studio, which is closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was not immediately returned Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
State Sen. John McCollister \u2014 a registered Republican known for his criticisms of fellow Republicans and some of the party’s policies \u2014 quickly denounced Baker’s tweet.<\/p>\n
“Racism like this is a FEATURE of conservative talk radio but they usually mask it with dog whistles. But not this time,” McCollister replied with his own tweet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, also condemned Baker’s tweet and called on Baker to apologize and resign.<\/p>\n
Omaha restaurant Fernando’s told KETV it is discontinuing its marketing relationship with Baker.<\/p>\n