6/23/16 UPDATE: Kenneth Lewis has now been terminated from his position as Assistant State Attorney. The office of State Attorney Jeff Ashton announced today Lewis was fired following his previous suspension for his social media post bashing downtown Orlando. Lewis has indicated he will appeal Ashton’s decision.
State Attorney Jeff Ashton finally took action on a questionable senior official in his own office. Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Lewis was suspended this week for violating the State Attorney’s Office’s social media policy after a completely distasteful critique of Orlando in the aftermath of the Pulse massacre that left 49 dead and more than 50 injured in the worst shooting in U.S. history.
Lewis called Orlando a national embarrassment and said “the entire city should be leveled.” He even warned anyone who goes to downtown Orlando after dark, “do it at your own risk.” That’s some critique from one of the region’s top prosecutors in Ashton’s office.
It isn’t the first time Kenneth Lewis spouted off on social media. Ashton was told to fire Lewis by civil rights groups back in 2014. At that time, the Orange County prosecutor wished all “Crack Hoes” a happy Mother’s Day but he was only temporarily re-assigned by Ashton.
This time, Kenneth Lewis apparently went too far.
Lewis posted on his Facebook page:
“Downtown Orlando has no bottom. The entire city should be leveled. It is void of a single redeeming quality. It is a melting pot of 3rd world miscreants and ghetto thugs. It is void of culture. If you live down there you do it at your own risk and at your own peril. If you go down there after dark there is seriously something wrong with you. Disney does everything in its power to shield visitors of Disney from its northern blight. That doesn’t change reality. Disney may be the happiest place on earth but Orlando is a national embarassment. If this is an act of domestic terrorist it is so important that we don’t publish the religion, name, or motive of the terrorist as not to offend anyone.”
According to the Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s public information officer Angela Starke, Lewis violated the social media policy and failure to comply with the office’s regulations can result in discipline up to and including termination. For now, it is just a suspension.
Let’s see if Lewis will keep his mouth shut, or if he’ll be posting on Facebook again soon.
[…] State Attorney Jeff Ashton finally took action on a questionable senior official in his own office. Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Lewis was suspended this week for violating the State Attorney's Office's social media policy after a completely … West Orlando News […]