Fired Incline Railway conductor’s fundraiser tops $18,000 as some call for its removal

By Mason Edwards | Chattanooga Times Free Press (TNS)

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — As online donations to a fired part-time Incline Railway conductor surpassed $18,000 on Monday, some Chattanoogans organized online to have the fundraiser reported and removed.

The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority fired Jack Peterson after he made xenophobic remarks during a July 4 Incline Railway ride that went viral on social media and made national headlines.

"To the very, very few Americans in here, happy Independence Day," Peterson said over the train intercom, "To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave."

On July 7, Peterson opened a GoFundMe with a donation goal of $700 and, in its description, he identified himself as the conductor recently fired for his "patriotic statements."

"These funds will solely go to me to help during this hard time," he said in the fundraiser. "It will allow me to not go under while I try to find a new job."

The following day, the fundraising goal increased six times, reaching $13,000. On Thursday, the new goal jumped to $24,000. His top five donors all sent over $200 each.

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One comment under the fundraiser prayed Peterson would get hired by "a real American company who doesn't hate patriots," and it hoped he would bring a civil lawsuit against the passengers who accused him of racism and xenophobia.

Peterson did not answer a call to a phone number tied to him in public records or respond to a message sent through the fundraising platform.

Chattanooga activist Marie Mott first saw the fundraiser, which had amassed around $6,000 at the time, on Reddit, where she said users posted about trying to get it flagged and reported as noncompliant with the platform's rules.

Fundraisers that are misleading or promote violence or intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin and more are prohibited from the platform, according to GoFundMe's online rules.

"It wasn't my idea. I wasn't the first, not at all," Mott said by phone. "Other community members took the lead on this."

Mott said Peterson was acting like a victim of his own actions, and she said it was crazy that he would receive more in donations than any individual who suffered after the recent Integra Vistas apartment fire in Hixson.

"This is just where we are in this country," she said. "He's done nothing to positively contribute to the community and can get $20,000. That says everything about how a certain portion of our community feels."

Cornell Wedge, a spokesperson for GoFundMe, said by email the team was looking into questions from the Chattanooga Times Free Press and would provide more information as soon as possible.

On Monday, CARTA chief of staff Scott Wilson said by email that seasonal workers at the Incline Railway earn $16.75 per hour, and that Peterson had been a part-time conductor for little more than a month.

A customer provided a video of Peterson's remarks to CARTA, and the conductor was fired shortly after the incident occurred, according to a July 6 statement attributed to Wilson.

The mass transit provider has zero tolerance for demanding and exclusionary language, Wilson said. According to him, the video complaint was the first CARTA received about Peterson, and the conductor was terminated immediately.

Wilson said that while an operator at the station's top controls the vehicles, it's the conductor's job to collect tickets, seat passengers and welcome them aboard.

When asked if CARTA is changing operations as a result of the incident, Wilson said Monday the mass transit authority is still reviewing every aspect of the matter.

"We have apologized for this incident," Wilson said, "especially because it departs so profoundly from the welcoming character of Chattanoogans."

Contact courts reporter Mason Edwards at [email protected] or 423-757-6409.

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