Ahlul Bayt News Agency ; The protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday.
Derek Fenton's 11-year career at the agency came to an abrupt halt Monday after photographs of him ripping pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them ablaze appeared in newspapers.
Fenton, 39, of Bloomingdale, N.J., burned the book during a protest on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 outside Park51.
"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," a NJTransit statement said.
He worked for NJ Transit for 11 years as a conductor and as an assistant train-consist coordinator, ensuring there are enough train cars positioned to be put into service.
On Saturday, the father of two told reporters he was exercising his right to protest by burning the Koran. Police who questioned him Saturday said, "He said, 'This is America,' and he wanted to stand up for it, in a Tea Party kind of way." He was released without charges, but "looked nervous, like he was starting to think it wasn't such a good idea." According to NJTransit, he should have been: "NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."
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