A Fresno police officer was fired after allegations he was aligned with the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group

• A Fresno police officer was fired after an internal investigation confirmed that he was a member of the Proud Boys.
• Officer Rick Fitzgerald was removed from the force Friday.
• Police chief Paco Balderrama said that hateful ideology has "no place in law enforcement and will not be tolerated."

A Fresno police officer was fired on Friday after an investigation revealed he was affiliated with the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.

Officer Rick Fitzgerald is no longer a member of the force following the investigation, Fresno police chief Paco Balderrama and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer confirmed.

Fitzgerald was captured on a livestream at a Proud Boys counter-protest and admitted to being a Proud Boys member in court, according to ABC30 Action News.

Mayor Dyer said he was "pleased that Officer Fitzgerald will no longer be serving as a police officer with the city of Fresno." Balderrama added that hateful ideology has "no place in law enforcement and will not be tolerated within the ranks of the Fresno Police Department."

-Sontaya Rose (@SontayaRose) April 9, 2021