National Muslim group applauds firing of Milwaukee assistant city attorney who worked for anti-Islamic groups and praised Putin
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The nation's largest Muslim civil rights group on Tuesday applauded the firing of a Milwaukee assistant city attorney who had previously worked for anti-Islamic "hate groups."
City Attorney Tearman Spencer fired attorney Jennifer DeMaster on Monday, days after the Journal Sentinel reported that she appeared on Russia Today TV backing Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions leading up to his country's invasion of Ukraine. Russia Today, registered as a foreign agent, is owned and controlled by the state of Russia.
However, the termination notice did not provide details about why she was fired. Instead, the notice to the city's Department of Employee Relations cited only "Job performance. Poor fit."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, also known as CAIR, on Tuesday called the decision "'welcome, but long overdue."
"Given Ms. DeMaster's past support for efforts to enshrine anti-Muslim bigotry into law, the city should have investigated whether she could fairly uphold the law for all Milwaukee residents," CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement. "The city's failure to do so sent a message that the constitutional rights of American Muslims were not important to city officials."
More: Milwaukee Common Council ends Couture feud in repudiation of City Attorney Tearman Spencer
DeMaster was hired in October to work in the litigation division, which typically handles cases in state and federal court. In that city post, DeMaster made $71,780 per year.
Spencer did not return a call on Tuesday. DeMaster also could not be reached for comment.
Also, on Monday, Spencer fired a second assistant city attorney, Nicholas Zales, citing "job performance" as the reason. Both Zales and DeMaster were on probation with the city.
Spencer hired DeMaster and Zales after an exodus of attorneys from his office, with some citing a "toxic work environment" under the relatively new city attorney. Spencer was elected in April 2020.
On Tuesday, Zales said in a LinkedIn message that he had received a 40% pay increase during his time in Spencer's office and successfully defended the city in "a high-profile wrongful death case against two highly skilled litigators" in Milwaukee County court.
"If I was doing poorly, why would the city attorney give me a large raise, and how did I win that case that nobody else wanted to take to trial?" Zales asked in the message.
He said he was fired as retaliation for contending that his supervisor, a deputy city attorney, was engaging in "micromanaging and bullying" to the point of making some staff physically ill.
CAIR was one of a number of local and national groups that called for Spencer to fire DeMaster in November unless she "publicly renounces her past efforts to restrict the rights of Muslims and pledges to treat all people equally under the law."
Of particular concern to those groups was her past work for the Clarion Project, a group that has been labeled one of the major proponents of Islamophobia in the United States. Before that, she worked as a law clerk for the American Center for Law and Justice, prepping attorneys on "Sharia law (and) radical Islamic ideology," according to a resume she filed in federal court.
DeMaster also wrote "Babylon Unveiled," a book in which she argued that Islam is not a peaceful religion.
The groups had also said it was "deeply concerning" to see video of Spencer's Special Deputy City Attorney Celia Jackson responding to criticism of DeMaster's hiring by saying in a staff meeting that people hold "different views."
DeMaster appearance on Russia Today
Last week, as Russia was on the brink of invading Ukraine, DeMaster went on Russia Today to argue that Putin was within his rights to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and deploy troops there.
"When people like Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken of the U.S. or (British Prime Minister) Boris Johnson or others or (President) Joe Biden come out and say this is a clear violation of international law, that's simply not true," she said. "It is not a clear violation of international law because they cannot name an international law that this violates."
Her opinion was rejected by international law experts interviewed by the Journal Sentinel who said Russia's actions were a clear violation of the United Nations Charter.
DeMaster also told the Russian propaganda network that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had no impact on America.
"There's no threat to U.S. national security," said DeMaster, who was listed as a "legal analyst" in the broadcast. "We have lots of issues going on right here at home that are, in effect, a danger to national security."
In the past five years, DeMaster has made dozens of appearances on Russia Today as an expert on everything from American foreign policy to Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide.
It is not known if DeMaster was paid for her appearances on Russia Today. City officials said Monday that she did not file a statement of economic interest that would have detailed her sources of income from the past year.
Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: National Muslim group applauds firing of Milwaukee assistant attorney
