Brooklyn Defender Services fires attorney over ‘hateful’ post advocating violence against Israelis

Brooklyn Defender Services has fired a staff attorney for “tarnishing” the nonprofit law firm’s reputation after he reportedly advocated violence against Israelis on his personal social media account.

The termination of Lucas Gomez, who had worked at the public defense organization since 2021, was announced Monday after the activist group StopAntisemitism shared a screenshot of a post from his account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Aug. 15 post was a reply to another user asking, “What everyone needs to start asking is ‘who will take 7 million Israelis in?’” Gomez’s since-deleted response read: “No need to ask this question when firing squads exist.”

“In his recent post on X, Lucas Gomez made a hateful statement that is antithetical to everything BDS stands for and what we unequivocally expect from our employees,” Brooklyn Defender Services Executive Director Lisa Schreibersdorf said in a statement. “In addition to advocating violence and antisemitism, Lucas Gomez tarnished the reputation of Brooklyn Defenders and of each of our dedicated public defenders.”

Schreibersdorf said Gomez’s comment risked harming “the thousands of people whose lives depend on the goodwill of their BDS defender,” and noted that the post would be seen by judges, jurors, prosecutors and members of the bar.

“The staff at BDS strive each day to uplift the humanity of all people and to seek kindness, justice and mercy in our courts and in our society,” she said. “Lucas Gomez’s actions are an affront to the good work of our staff as well as to the legal profession and the community BDS serves in Brooklyn and Queens.”

BDS did not respond to follow-up questions from amNewYork at the time of publication. Mr. Gomez could not be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for StopAntisemitism praised BDS for “acting swiftly and decisively” in ending Gomez’s employment three days after the comments were posted.

“By taking a firm stand against violence and blatant antisemitism, they’ve sent a powerful message that hatred has no place in our legal system or our society. At a time when moral clarity is lacking, their response sets an example we should all uphold,” the spokesperson said.

Founded in 2018 as a response to “increasing antisemitic violence and sentiment” in the US, StopAntisemitism has ramped up its activity on X since Oct. 7, 2023. The watchdog group regularly doxes people it identifies as antisemitic or anti-Israel by sharing personal social media profiles and employer information with its more than 340,000 followers.

Earlier this year, the group urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether children’s entertainer and YouTube personality Ms. Rachel was acting as a foreign agent after she posted content highlighting the suffering of children in Gaza. The U.N. Children’s Fund estimates that more than 18,000 children have been killed in Gaza over the past 18 months.

Rachel Accurso, known to millions of young viewers as Ms. Rachel, pushed back on the criticism in an interview with PBS NewsHour last Wednesday. “I think it’s sad to take someone’s dedication and love for all children and try to make that wrong,” she said. “It’s not wrong. It’s wonderful to be an advocate for all children.”