Shades of George Orwell! It seems that the FDNY firefighters who booed Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday are going to be hunted down and re-educated. 

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh is hunting down smoke-eaters and other staffers who mercilessly booed New York Attorney General Letitia James – and cheered in support of Donald Trump – during a department promotion ceremony this week, The Post has learned.

FDNY Chief of Department John Hodges fired off an email to other agency honchos warning a reckoning led by the department’s Bureau of Investigation and Trials was coming over the chorus of boos and chants of “Trump” that James received at Thursday’s event.

“BITS is investigating this, so they will figure out who the members are,” Hodges wrote FDNY chiefs Saturday in the letter obtained by The Post.

So, the FDNY brass as well as James’ office have their shorts in a knot because Letitia James was booed. At first glance, one would think she was booed for just showing up. But that wasn’t the case. 

This was an event for the FDNY. This wasn’t a political event. In fact, James was only there to “support” a friend of hers, per the talking points sent out to the entire FDNY. 

This was not a political event and Letitia James was not there to give a political speech.

She was there to support her friend and our new chaplain Pamela Holmes. Pamela invited her friend to attend the ceremony.

Members have a right to political beliefs. But you don’t have a right to make a job related ceremony political in nature.

So, if it wasn’t political, then why did the FDNY brass have her up on stage to speak? If it wasn’t political, then James should’ve parked herself in the audience instead of on the stage. But having her on stage and speaking immediately turned the event into a political circus. The FDNY and James brought this upon themselves. By the way, it’s ok for people to openly promote, WHILE WORKING, the LGBTQAXYZ agendas, but to speak out against someone who is of the chosen? Thought crime!

This was a PROMOTIONAL event celebrating the hard work of the members of the FDNY and staff who put in countless hours to try and keep the city safe. It is their accomplishments that should’ve been front and center. Not a speech from the incredibly partisan Attorney General who will embark on law fare if you have gotten out of line. 

https://twitter.com/keny_berd/status/1765832381464735990

And, evidently the law fare continues. The members of the FDNY who stepped out of line but be, re-educated. Yes, re-educated. 

I was made aware by some FDNY members that after FDNY members booed Attorney General Letitia James that an investigation has opened up and FDNY bosses are now visiting different firehouses asking people to come Forward. I attached some documents below. https://t.co/lepsBYcrLA pic.twitter.com/VIHSkxt56v

— Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) March 9, 2024

The FDNY is now wasting countless man-hours combing through video to find the baddies and punish them. But let’s not describe that as ‘hunting them down.’ 

“Nobody is hunting anyone down. We’re looking into those who clearly broke department regulations,” said spokesman Jim Long. “It has nothing to do with politics. It’s about professionalism at an official event held in a house of worship.”

Yes, yes you are. The letter sent out to all the FDNY specifically states that there are (as of this writing) on-going visits to each house to lecture the fire fighters on their behavior. Another letter from the FDNY Chief of Department John Hodges specifically states that they are combing through video to identify the miscreants who stepped out of line.

BITS is investigating this so they will figure out who the members are. I recommend they come forward. I have been told by the Commissioner it will be better for them if they come forward and we don’t have to hunt them down.

The DC’s shall direct the Captain of the Company to make a list of those that come forward and send it directly to John and Kevin in Operations. I realize members might not come forward but they should know that there is clear video of the entire incident and they will be contacted by BITS if they don’t.

That letter has George Orwell written all over it, and yes, I’d term that as ‘hunting down,’ wouldn’t you? 

To be clear, the real Q is whether FDNY admin violated @NYCCOIB laws, or others, by using threatening language to retaliate & suppress off-duty employees (& their families!) on personal time expressing political opinions in a traditional way, however rude it may have been (1/2) https://t.co/0Gshk8XdGW

— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) March 10, 2024

Yes indeed. While this was an event celebrating the promotion of many throughout the FDNY, it was NOT a uniformed event. The audience is in civilian clothes. 

"Reeducated"? When did America become a fascist nation? James is offended, she was invited–tough! We've lost count how often a Republican politician or official gets mocked in public at "nonpolitical" events. Maxine Waters said to do it. Stand strong, gents.

— SteveR 🇺🇸✝️👨🏼‍❤️‍👨🏼 (@flickr2754) March 10, 2024

Again, Letitia James was invited by her friend who was receiving a promotion to department Chaplain. That doesn’t mean they needed to have her speak, unless James pushed the department to give her stage time. Given Letitia James’ behavior these last few years, I wouldn’t put it past her. She loves the limelight that much. 

The most disturbing thing about this is the George Orwellian actions undertaken by the FDNY brass. The fire fighters were there on their OWN time as civilians for this event, which wasn’t billed as a political event. And now, they are to be ‘re-educated’ on their behavior. 

It would not surprise me one bit if there are resignations across the FDNY because they were hunted down and labeled as baddies. 

Feature Photo Credit: FDNY fire trucks via iStock, cropped and modified