VA conducted internal investigations into employees who attended vigil for Alex Pretti: CNN
At least 3 other employees were also investigated after vigils for Alex Pretti, and Halioua says the probe could lead to discipline.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating at least four employees for speaking to the press after attending vigils honoring Alex Pretti, a VA worker killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis in January.
- Recreational therapist Becky Halioua at the Charlie Norwood Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, attended a vigil to pay respects and spoke briefly to a local newspaper about her concerns shortly afterward being informed of an internal investigation.
- Halioua alleges the investigation is a 'scare tactic' to silence vocal employees and has filed a grievance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding this probe and other disputes with superiors.
- Thomas Dargon, deputy general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees, stated Halioua exercised her First Amendment rights, while National Nurses United called the investigations 'despicable and immoral.'
- VA press secretary Quinn Slaven declined to comment on individual cases, citing privacy laws, while the agency's handbook requires unauthorized employees to refer media requests to the communications office.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Report: VA investigated employees who spoke publicly about Alex Pretti
In the days following the Border Patrol killing of Alex Pretti, his colleagues at Department of Veterans Affairs clinics and hospitals across the country held vigils in his honor. The VA opened investigations into multiple staffers who attended the vigils and spoke to the press, CNN reported Tuesday. Becky Halioua, a recreational therapist and union […]
Revealed: VA launched internal probe of workers who attended Alex Pretti vigil
After 37-year-old Alex Pretti — an intensive care nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) — was fatally shot by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Minneapolis on January 24, protests were held not only in that city, but in many other U.S. cities as well. One of them was Augusta, Georgia, where VA recreational therapist Becky Halioua was among the demonstrators.Now, CNN's Brian Todd is reporting that Halioua was the su…
During the days following Alex Pretti's death at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, fellow staff members of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) held vigils at federal immigration centers...
Trump agency accused of 'very stalker-like' targeting of employees who mourned Alex Pretti
The Department of Veterans Affairs has investigated at least four employees for speaking to the press after attending vigils honoring Alex Pretti, a VA worker killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis in January, drawing accusations that the agency is using intimidation to silence staff members.Becky Halioua, a recreational therapist and union leader at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, attended a vigil to pa…
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