Man who fought Lexington protester fired from job; he says he will challenge action
A man who got into an altercation with a protester in downtown Lexington this weekend said he has been fired from his job.
Jason Ritter said his employer, Harbor Freight Tools, told him Monday that he was fired because he was linked to the company, which created a security risk for Harbor Freight Tools.
Ritter said he has hired an attorney to fight the termination and maintains he did not do anything to incite the altercation despite witness statements to the contrary.
Harbor Freight Tools said Monday that it did not condone Ritter’s actions and had taken “appropriate action.”
“Harbor Freight condemns this individual’s actions and finds his behavior and statements offensive,” the statement said. “This conduct does not represent our views at Harbor Freight, where diversity is one of our core values, and we have taken appropriate action regarding this individual.”
The statement was obtained by WKYT, the Lexington Herald-Leader’s reporting partner.
The fight began when Ritter, who is white, got out of an Uber vehicle, confronted protesters at the intersection of Limestone and Maxwell streets late Saturday and threw a punch at one of the protesters, who is black, according to witnesses, video of the fight and the Uber’s driver. The protester the man tried to hit then hit back and there was a brief scuffle.
Video of the incident shows that other protesters intervened, separated the two and pulled the involved protester away from Ritter, who followed the protesters, appearing to push one of them before the fight started again.
In an interview, Ritter said he got out of the Uber because he felt threatened.
Ritter said that a protester had cursed at him through the open car window before putting his hands on the hood of the Uber. The protester “shook his head menacingly” before telling the couple they were “not getting out of here ever,” Ritter said.
Ritter said he felt like he had no choice but to get out of the vehicle at that point and said that he was punched three times before a Herald-Leader video of the incident began. He denies he threw the first punch.
In an interview Sunday, the Uber driver, Mohammed Amidu, said he’d stopped at a red light as protesters started to move through the intersection. The protesters were all being peaceful and never touched the car or bothered drivers as they passed, Amidu said.
When the light turned green, Amidu’s male passenger told him to go. Amidu explained he couldn’t, because the protesters were still going through the intersection.
At that point, the male passenger got out in the middle of the intersection and told protesters to move, Amidu said. One of the protesters said “no” and that’s when the passenger took a swing at the protester, Amidu said.
Lexington Police said Monday they were still investigating the incident and asked for witnesses to come forward.
Ritter said Monday the Uber driver was not telling the truth about what happened.
Ritter said he is also considering suing those who he says have slandered his name.
Screenshots of multiple social media posts attributed to Ritter that make violent or racist statements have been shared on Facebook since the fight.
Ritter said Monday that those posts were not made by him. Ritter said his Facebook account was likely hacked. Ritter’s Facebook page has since been taken down.
“I would not make statements like that,” Ritter said. “I’m not a violent person.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 1:06 PM.
