The president of the Charleston Firefighters Association, IAFF 61, has filed suit in federal court claiming the City of Charleston terminated him in retaliation for his union activities, including his role in an earlier lawsuit over conditions at a city fire station.

John E. Baker II filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina naming the City, Human Resources and Organizational Development Director Tammy O’Berry, and Employee Relations Manager Lee Wilder. The complaint alleges violations of his First Amendment rights to speech, association, and petition.

Baker joined the Charleston Fire Department in 2019 and was elected president of Local 61 in 2023. According to the complaint, he received several awards and had no disciplinary history other than one tardy notation before his termination in May 2026. He served as a fire engineer.

According to the complaint, the dispute traces back to living conditions at Station 9. On July 17, 2024, firefighter Robert Tackett contacted President Baker about an HVAC malfunction that reportedly left bunk rooms above 90 degrees. President Baker raised the concern with Fire Chief Daniel Curia.

The complaint alleges that after Chief Curia learned Tackett had contacted the union, instructed one of Tackett’s supervisors to “find something” in the code of conduct to “write up” Tackett. Tackett was transferred to another station on July 26, 2024.

Station 9 was temporarily closed in November 2024 for HVAC replacement. According to the complaint, a mold assessment had documented visible mold in six rooms and recommended remediation as soon as possible.

Tackett and Local 61 sued the City and Chief Curia in March 2025, alleging Tackett was disciplined for reporting the station conditions to the union and that the discipline was intended to discourage other firefighters from contacting or joining Local 61. Here is our coverage of that suit. The parties reported a resolution in November 2025 and filed stipulations of dismissal in February 2026.

During discovery in that case, Local 61 produced nearly 100 screenshots of text messages between Tackett and President Baker. Six of those screenshots later became the focus of an HR investigation into President Baker.

One exchange concerned firefighters visiting from Saudi Arabia through an exchange program. While discussing whether the City would repair the air conditioning for the visitors, President Baker used the slur “towel head.” The complaint acknowledges that President Baker admitted the term was wrong and expressed regret for using it.

According to HR’s investigative report, the message had the potential to cause residents of Middle Eastern origin to question whether they would be treated fairly by first responders and therefore had “very real potential to disrupt the primary function of fire operations.” President Baker contends the message was sent from his personal phone, while off duty, to another firefighter’s personal phone, during a discussion he was having as Local 61 president about station conditions.

A second issue involved the production of the messages during discovery. HR’s report accused President Baker of omitting the message containing the slur from his production and raised the possibility that he had tampered with evidence. The complaint alleges Local 61 actually produced screenshots from both sides of the exchange. It further alleges the copies attached to HR’s report displayed proof that they had indeed been produced.[1]

President Baker says Local 61’s attorney assembled the discovery responses and that he did not know during his HR interview precisely what had been produced. He alleges HR Director O’Berry and Wilder falsely told him the message had not been produced and repeatedly questioned him about its absence.

HR also cited two screenshots in which President Baker forwarded Tackett a text from Chief Curia. In that message, Chief Curia said he was “disturbed that the chain of response failed so badly” and “VERY appreciative” that President Baker had brought the HVAC problem to his attention. President Baker had responded to Chief Curia that morale was not at its highest and trust was low, while thanking Chief Curia for responding quickly.

HR concluded that President Baker’s communications with Chief Curia and Tackett gave the appearance that he was dividing department leadership and personnel into opposing sides. The report stated that the conduct could jeopardize teamwork during emergency responses and was dishonest. President Baker alleges he forwarded the exchange to Tackett as Local 61 president to tell a union member how Chief Curia had responded to his concern.

Another screenshot showed Tackett telling President Baker that Battalion Chief Anthony Morley was reviewing the code of conduct because supervisors had been told to find something for which Tackett could be written up. President Baker replied, “get it in writing . . . . Or record it.” The complaint characterizes the response as advice from a union president to a member facing possible discipline.

The final issue involved a text in which Tackett said he was out sick because family was in town and would complete a grievance the following Tuesday. President Baker reacted with a thumbs-up emoji. HR viewed the reaction as possible approval of sick-leave misuse and conduct inconsistent with the City’s expectations of a supervisor. The complaint alleges Tackett complied with the department’s sick-leave procedures and that President Baker was acknowledging Tackett’s statement that he would complete the grievance.

O’Berry and Wilder recommended that, at a minimum, President Baker be demoted to a position without supervisory responsibility. The complaint alleges O’Berry later reviewed and approved the department’s decision to terminate him.

President Baker was placed on administrative leave on May 19, 2026. At a May 27 meeting, Deputy Chief Jason Krusen informed him that the department had decided to terminate him and presented him with a letter from Manager Wilder. The complaint alleges Deputy Chief Krusen also offered President Baker $7,778.35 to resign, release his claims against the City, and sign a nondisclosure agreement. President Baker declined, and Manager Wilder terminated him effective May 29, 2026.

The complaint alleges the stated misconduct was a pretext and that the City terminated President Baker to punish him for acting as Local 61 president, advocating for improvements to station conditions, and assisting with the Tackett lawsuit. It further alleges the termination was intended to discourage other Charleston firefighters from reporting health hazards, associating with Local 61, or suing the department.

The single-count complaint asserts a claim under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 for retaliation in violation of President Baker’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to speech, association, and petition. He seeks reinstatement, removal of the discipline from his personnel file, lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, declaratory and injunctive relief, and a jury trial.

[1] The Bates numbering is a system used in litigation to assign a unique identifying number to each page produced during discovery. Here, the complaint alleges Local 61 produced both versions of the disputed text exchange as Bates pages 0068 and 0069. According to the complaint, the copies attached to HR’s own investigative report still displayed those Bates numbers, indicating that the messages—including the one HR accused President Baker of withholding—had been produced as required, when required.