State employee reportedly sent racist message to NYC candidate

A Tennessee state employee reportedly sent a private Facebook message harassing a New York City mayoral candidate, using racist and sexist slurs in the process.

Now, his job might be in question.

A screenshot posted to Twitter on Monday by Dianne Morales, an Afro Puerto Rican woman who is running for mayor of New York City, showed a private Facebook message she received from John McDaniel, whose profile indicated he lives in Gallatin, Tennessee.

“Dumbass [racist slur] b----,” McDaniel wrote, according to the screenshot. In the message, he did not censor the words. The message was sent April 18.

A since-deleted LinkedIn account belonging to Tennessee state employee John McDaniel, screenshots of which were posted on Twitter on Monday by former Democratic state House candidate Edward Nelson, showed a photo that resembled the man in McDaniel’s Facebook profile photo.

McDaniel identified himself on LinkedIn as an employee of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

A spokesperson for the department on Monday afternoon confirmed McDaniel works with unemployed people to find work, but said he does not make decisions on unemployment claims.

“Agency leadership is aware of recent allegations involving an employee and they are investigating the matter,” spokesperson Chris Cannon said. “They will take further action based upon confirmed and/or corroborated facts discovered during the investigation.”

The situation raises the question of whether low-level employees can face consequences for abusive language used in a private setting, in this case a direct message on Facebook.

Reached by phone Monday and asked about the message, McDaniel declined to elaborate.

“I have nothing to say,” McDaniel initially said.

Asked whether he sent the message, McDaniel said, “I did not — I’m not going to say anything.”

Asked whether someone hacked his account, McDaniel said he was unsure.

“At this point, I don’t know,” he said.

McDaniel would not answer whether he is still employed by the state.

“I’m not at liberty to say what’s going on,” he said.

Morales shared her thoughts with the post, followed by a fundraising link.

“I am always struck by those who feel the need to go out of their way to lob threats or insults,” she said. “While the violence is admittedly jarring, it’s also a reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for equity and justice. I’m not going anywhere.”

According to Tennessee’s code of conduct, “employees have a responsibility to the citizens of the State of Tennessee to act with integrity and to treat the people we serve, our colleagues, and other parties with dignity and respect.