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A University Of Wisconsin employee was fired after deliberately driving his motorcycle through a group of demonstrators in Madison last month, according to official sources.
Rich Yaeger, a senior power plant operator, was terminated from his position at UW Madison by HR, whom he dubbed "hatchetmen." He vowed to take legal action against the University.
In a ten minute video, Yaeger ranted about his "wrongful termination."
However, he failed to acknowledge the incident on November 6 in downtown Madison and the subsequent investigation that led to his termination.
Yaeger drove his motorcycle into a group of young Black Lives Matter protesters, which was captured on video.
A bystander took this video of @UWMadison employee Rich Yaeger running into a group of protesters with his motorcyc… https://t.co/9v0GfDUpnQ— Amanda Quintana (@Amanda Quintana) 1604965793.0
A campaign to get Yeager fired was launched the day of the incident.
UW students wrote a letter to the University.
Trigger Warning: violence, racism, homophobia, and sexism The following statement from the UW Madison BIPOC Coali… https://t.co/COThtxv8Fy— UW Madison BIPOC Coalition (@UW Madison BIPOC Coalition) 1605582064.0
Laurent Heller is the Vice Chancellor who oversees the department that Rich Yaeger, the Trump supporting UW employe… https://t.co/a6S11Aozuv— Matthew Mitnick (@Matthew Mitnick) 1604853098.0
Heller has done absolutely nothing all year to discipline those under his supervision (from @UWMadisonPolice to now… https://t.co/pnUXoI1Kil— Matthew Mitnick (@Matthew Mitnick) 1604853098.0
ASM demands the University immediately places Rich Yaeger on unpaid leave and subsequently terminates him without s… https://t.co/2Yjpy5uGgV— ASM (@ASM) 1605308979.0
During the encounter, Yeager injured a student and also hurled racial slurs.
In the video detailing how he was fired from the university, Yaeger claimed he also used racial slurs in an email back to HR.
Yaeger said he wrote the n-word a mind-boggling 3 times, saying "none of [the uses were] derogatory, absolutely not, as a matter of fact, used with as much love as possible."
The fact that @UWMadison is still employing Rich Yaeger, a man who drove his motorcycle through a group of proteste… https://t.co/H93GJEC7hU— Yarmple Whongbly (@Yarmple Whongbly) 1605184914.0
@DrSamiSchalk Rich Yaeger Power Plant Operator at University of Wisconsin-Madison That’s all I got from linked in… https://t.co/zWBvq1I8gy— Alex (@Alex) 1604859741.0
@AlexJohnsonFry1 @DrSamiSchalk WTF. This reminds me of the adviser on my campus with all these religious, anti-LGBT… https://t.co/jYaXlZkehw— Hailey (@Hailey) 1604859846.0
@hurricane_hails @DrSamiSchalk An absolute disgrace— Alex (@Alex) 1604860591.0
@DrSamiSchalk He's now friend requesting and harassing the people involved via FB chat and comments on posts. He… https://t.co/S4Tv4lnVRK— Madison cat boi (@Madison cat boi) 1604944803.0
Yeager reportedly used racist language in the workplace. He also failed to show up for work.
After all of that, it doesn't appear Yeager's firing was solely about the motorcycle incident. His behavior in the workplace certainly removes all doubt of his culpability.
At the end of his video detailing his termination, he commented:
"I've got rage, people."
After zooming his camera in on the motorcycle which he drove into the BLM protesters, he said:
"This machine here, this machine kills fascists."
Senior power plant operator Rich Yaeger claims he was wrongfully terminated and will hire a legal team to get his j… https://t.co/HAfxybj8ep— madison.com (@madison.com) 1607619724.0
@madisondotcom "in anticipation that they were going to call me a racist," Yaeger said he included the n-word three… https://t.co/7ahqAJMbgv— Alida Mau (@Alida Mau) 1607621169.0
@madisondotcom He's all over the bipoc Instagram account responding to anyone who has anything to say about him, too. Not a good look.— x - kat 🌊 (@x - kat 🌊) 1607624736.0
Thank you to @UFAS223 for continuing to stand with BIPOC folx on campus. Rich Yaeger has continued to attempt to c… https://t.co/4BSLXvE72y— UW Madison BIPOC Coalition (@UW Madison BIPOC Coalition) 1607472067.0
So UW employees like Rich Yaeger can harass and run over staff / students and be put on paid administrative leave,… https://t.co/mQBtH1xtW1— UW Madison BIPOC Coalition (@UW Madison BIPOC Coalition) 1607303508.0
After the incident on November 6, Yeager reportedly harassed the students on social media, going so far as to friend them on Facebook to continue hurling racial epithets at them.
It's unclear if a lawsuit will manifest. But for now at least, Yaeger is out of the workplace.