Pennsylvania state representative Rich Irvin (R-Huntingdon) fired staffer Derek Greene this week, responding to public outrage surrounding dozens of racist and sexist statements the employee made over the last several years, the Centre Daily Times reports.

On Monday, a Pennsylvania biology professor named Randy Bennett launched a petition on Change.org calling for Greene to be fired; it quickly garnered hundreds of signatures. In pleading his case against the Republican political operative, Bennett aired his grievances in the form of since-deleted tweets, authored by Greene, disparaging women, LGBTQ communities, black people, and Asian Americans.

ADVERTISEMENT

Using the now defunct Twitter handle @BIGD1434, Greene made the following observations, which originated between 2012 and 2015, and remained online for public consumption until this week: