View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2021/01/15/597706.htm
Two West Virginia school bus drivers who were suspended for attending a rally for President Donald Trump in the nation’s capital have been cleared of wrongdoing following hearings, an attorney said Wednesday.
Attorney John Bryan, who is representing the employees in a separate lawsuit against the Jefferson County School District, said one employee was cleared Tuesday and the other on Wednesday. No evidence was presented against them, Bryan said.
Bryan said he is still proceeding with the federal lawsuit against school Superintendent Bondy Shay Gibson. Bryan is representing bus drivers Tina Renner and Pamela McDonald. The lawsuit said Renner and McDonald’s actions were protected under the First Amendment when they traveled last week to Washington to support Trump.
Renner and McDonald rode on a charter bus Jan. 6. After hearing Trump speak at a rally, they walked to the U.S. Capitol, remained in an area designated for public occupation and did not participate in illegal activities, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said attending the rally was unrelated to the bus drivers’ employment and they had enough leave days available to attend the rally.
Renner and McDonald each received a phone call after returning informing them that they would be placed on paid administrative leave. Both also received letters from Gibson.
A Capitol police officer died from injuries suffered when a mob violently ransacked the U.S. Capitol after the rally, and police fatally shot a woman during the riot. Three others died in what authorities said were medical emergencies.