CNN—the network that allowed anchor Brooke Baldwin to falsely smear Breitbart News as the “most prominent platform” for the “Nazi salute” and enabled New York Times columnist Charles Blow just a few weeks ago to falsely defame Breitbart News as the home of “Neo-Nazism”—reportedly fired outspoken pro-Trump contributor Jeffrey Lord on Thursday for mocking Nazis and fascists with a “Sieg Heil” tweet.

Lord directed his tweet at a Media Matters activist who is trying remove Sean Hannity from the airwaves and has called for Lord’s firing in the past. Lord had just written an article denouncing groups like Media Matters who try to suppress free speech.

“Nazi salutes are indefensible,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement. “Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network.”

Lord told CNN’s Brian Stelter that he felt the network was “caving to bullies here” and reportedly said his “Sieg Heil” tweet was misunderstood.

An examination of Lord’s Twitter feed (see tweets below) right after he sent his tweet shows that Lord was indeed mocking the “Media Matters Fascists.”

In his American Spectator column that was published hours earlier, Lord denounced the “anti-free speech bigots” at Media Matters.

“If there is a conservative with an audience of any size your fascist instinct is not to debate honestly but to simply silence the opposition. Period. Threaten their sponsors and bully,” Lord wrote in his piece directed at Media Matters activist Angelo Carusone.

“This is America, Angelo,” he added. “Not Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany or Communist Russia.”

Lord added that he had “no intention of calling for some regulatory God somewhere or some pooh-bah donor to shut you down or defund you.”

“I really do believe in free speech,” he said.

While it appears that CNN used Lord’s “Sieg Heil” tweet as an excuse to fire the pro-Trump voice, the network, at least on two occasions, allowed two of their more prominent on-air personalities to smear and defame Breitbart News as a site for Nazis without any repercussions whatsoever.

In November of 2016, anchor Brooke Baldwin, after airing a video of a Nazi salute that Breitbart News never published, said on the air that Breitbart News was “the most prominent platform” for what “we just showed, you know, the video we just showed, the Nazi salute, the while supremacists in this country. Are you okay with having Steve Bannon as the chief strategist at the White House, Paris?”

As Breitbart News noted at the time, “Breitbart News has never showed the video of the Nazi salute, which ran at The Atlantic and other sites. Nor has Breitbart News ever associated with white supremacists. In fact, earlier on Tuesday, the Daily Beast had reported that Breitbart News had ‘excoriated’ a white nationalist who had reached out to the site.” Furthermore, as Breitbart’s Joel Pollak noted, “Trump had no reported connection with the group in the video, and later disavowed its support explicitly.”

On July 18, New York Times columnist and frequent CNN guest Charles Blow said the panel was not going to talk about “what that Breitbart crowd is, and that it is basically Neo-Nazism and the like. I mean we’re not going to bring that part up, anyway.”

Video of blow’s remarks is below. Nobody from CNN even challenges Blow’s smear in the video. A search of the transcript that CNN posted of the 9 p.m. ET edition of Cooper’s show on July 18 reveals that nobody ever challenged Blow’s smear.

Neither Baldwin nor Blow apparently even got a slap on the wrist for defaming Breitbart News as the “most prominent” site for the Nazi salute and the home for Neo-Nazis.

fact 181: CNN guest FALSELY claims Bannon and the “Breitbart crowd” are “neo-Nazis”. No fact check from anyone on the panel! @joelpollak pic.twitter.com/CwFvaYqFpX — Raven (@KazeSkyz) July 19, 2017

Here are Lord’s tweets right after his “Sieg Heil” tweet.

Sieg Heil! — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

Why would I delete something that mocks the Fascists at Media Matters Fascists? Why would you tweet support tying Fascism? — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

Hi @cnn/@CNNPR, care to comment on your on air talent issuing (in serious and non-ironic way) nazi victory salutes?https://t.co/NG017q3KCL — Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) August 10, 2017

Nazis, Fascists, mass murder and stamping out free speech are decidedly not funny. Media Matters Fascists are in to one of them. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

So opposing a Fascist/Nazi-style attempt to stop free speech is itself Nazi/Fascist? Ahhh Orwell. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

So you hate it when I mock Nazis and Fascists? Interesting. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

Nice try! I will happy to mock Nazis and fascists any day. And since you lead Media Matters Fascists I understand why you hate it. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

You seem to be joining them. Interesting. Sorry if mocking Nazis and Fascists hurts your feelings. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

Mocking Nazis and Fascism offends you? Wow. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

I don't have to think before mocking wannabe Nazis and fascists. Why do you? — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

What's wrong with mocking Nazis and Fascists? And why do you object? Wow. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

An avalanche of people who hate me for mocking Nazis and fascists? I can stand it. Trust me. We should all be opposing this garbage. — Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

Lord’s first tweet after CNN fired him was “LOL”: