A seventeen-year veteran of the United States Customs and Border Protection agency is suing the U.S. government and three agents for unfair treatment due to his being gay. Robert Rhodes says he was targeted for firing and to be prosecuted following an incident that involved the assault of a tourist from China along the U.S.-Canada border. While there were several officers involved in the fracas, Rhodes says that three colleagues conspired to have him arrested after Chinese officials sought accountability. In 2005, he was acquitted of charges, but now says that Homeland Security specifically considered him to be expendable because of his sexual orientation. On Monday, he filed two suits, each seeking $25 million, in federal district court.
A seventeen-year veteran of the United States Customs and Border Protection agency is suing the U.S. government and three agents for unfair treatment due to his being gay. Robert Rhodes says he was targeted for firing and to be prosecuted following an incident that involved the assault of a tourist from China along the U.S.-Canada border. While there were several officers involved in the fracas, Rhodes says that three colleagues conspired to have him arrested after Chinese officials sought accountability. In 2005, he was acquitted of charges, but now says that Homeland Security specifically considered him to be expendable because of his sexual orientation. On Monday, he filed two suits, each seeking $25 million, in federal district court.
