According to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the stepmother of now-former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe, the officer who allegedly shot Rayshard Brooks, has been fired from her job at a mortgage company in the area.
Melissa Rolfe, the stepmother of the now-former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot in a case that’s since garnered national attention, was fired from her job as human resources director for a mortgage company, according to a Thursday evening report from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Tucker Carlson reports that @Equity_Prime Mortgage in Atlanta has fired the step mother of police officer Garrett Rolfe, who was charged in the shooting of Rayshard Brooks. pic.twitter.com/RtJhNyyd2F
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 19, 2020
“Until today, [Rolfe’s] stepmother, her name is Melissa Rolfe, was the HR director at a place called Equity Prime Mortgage in Atlanta, Georgia, but today, she was let go. She’s no longer in that role. Apparently, she was fired, and her only crime — was being officer Rolfe’s stepmother,” Tucker Carlson explained.
“According to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to this program, Rolfe was promised that her job was safe, but today she was told — and we’re quoting — ‘We have to terminate our relationship with you.’ No other explanation was offered, and honestly, no other explanation was needed. It was obvious what happened,” Carlson continued.
“Rolfe has already been scrubbed from the company’s website, wiped away as the Bolshevik’s did with those who lost favor with Joseph Stalin. That will keep happening until lawmakers decided to resist the mob and protect ordinary people from its predations,” Carlson warned. “This is where the country is going, it’s becoming a place where you can be punished for the supposed misdeeds of your relatives. You don’t want to be that country. All of us should put on the breaks immediately.”
Later in the program, Carlson said that the company reached out with a statement, claiming that Rolfe was fired for social media comments. They did not elaborate on what the comments said, however, and Carlson wasn’t buying it. “The bottom line is, it seems pretty clear they fired this woman because of who her stepson was,” he said. “Just to restate the obvious, that shouldn’t happen in this country because it’s wrong and people should say it’s wrong, or it will continue to keep happening.”
On Thursday evening, Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) released a lengthy statement on Twitter. Although it did not mention Rolfe’s stepmother by name, it appeared to allude to her termination and stressed that the company was committed to diversity. Later that same evening, the company released a second statement, which spoke about Melissa Rolfe’s termination directly. It read as follows:
“As an employer, it is imperative to maintain a safe environment for all employees. Melissa Rolfe’s termination was a direct result of her actions in the workplace and violation of company policy. While working with Melissa as she transitioned to a leave of absence granted by our organization, we discovered she violated company policy and created an uncomfortable working environment for many of our employees. As an HR director, she ultimately lost the confidence of her peers, leadership, and many employees who no longer felt comfortable engaging with her. We value diversity of thought and respect Melissa’s personal views and the views of all employees; however, when those views create a hostile working environment, we must make difficult decisions to part ways.” [Emphasis added]
Both Twitter statements can be seen below:
— Equity Prime Mortgage LLC (@Equity_Prime) June 19, 2020
The original statement read as follows:
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion are deeply entrenched in the principles that help guide the actions of our organization. Our 23 fundamental principles comprise The EPM Way and the first one is, “Do the right thing, always.”
Our unwavering commitment to always doing the right thing has led us to sever ties with an employee who has expressed views that do not align with our culture. We do not tolerate racism, discrimination or injustices of any kind. EPM was co-founded by people of color intent on building a better future the best way they knew how, by bringing diverse cultures into the conversation. We view business through an empathetic lens. We care about the communities we serve and the people we employ.
We have intentionally built a team that is reflective of the U.S. population. Not only do we make a concerted effort to ensure Black people are in positions of authority, but we have recently increased overall diversity within our management from 68% to 80%, and we are nowhere near finished.
We are dedicated to building wealth in communities of color that have historically suffered from systemic racism. We recognize the roadblocks these communities face and have and will continue to honor our commitment to removing them. Our efforts have significantly increased loans to Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Veterans to enrich their communities.
We owe our successes to our employees who listen generously, speak courageously, and choose positivity. Representation matters, and so do Black Lives. Known to many as Equity Prime Mortgage externally, we thrive by the principle of Empowering People More. We will continue to be a resource and voice to financially empower those we serve and strive to guarantee diversity every step of the way.
EPM is dedicated to being an organization that strives for diversity and equality. We are guided by the 23 fundamentals of the EPM Way to be an advocate for financial empowerment in the communities we serve. pic.twitter.com/ag7wkZLl13
— Equity Prime Mortgage LLC (@Equity_Prime) June 18, 2020
EPM didn’t elaborate in its statement on Melissa Rolfe’s “actions in the workplace,” what she did to “violate company policy,” or how she made her coworkers “uncomfortable,” so we can only guess what those actions might have been, but a Fox News report gave some clues. According to the outlet, Melissa Rolfe referred to her stepson’s case as “nonsense” in a social media post backing a Georgia congressional candidate.
Let that sink in. While many have decried the police-involved shooting of Rayshard Brooks, plenty of others have called the case against Garrett Rolfe, which has him facing felony murder charges and possibly the death penalty in the fatal shooting, “nonsense.” Even a black Georgia sheriff has said as much. Apparently, however, that could be worthy of termination from your job. That should worry us all. Tucker Carlson had it right. This shouldn’t happen in the United States of America. In fact, it’s about as un-American as it gets.
