Christian security guard says LA County punished him for disobeying Pride flag

A Christian firefighter with the Los Angeles County Fire Department who says he was punished for his beliefs after protesting Pride flag activities is headed to court.

Captain Jeffrey Little, a more than 20-year veteran of the LA County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division, sued Los Angeles County and several fire department chiefs in 2024 after the county adopted a policy in 2023 requiring the Progress Pride flag to fly at county facilities throughout June in honor of LGBTQ Pride month.

A young devout Christian, he opposed the policy as it conflicted with his religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality and sought a place of freedom in raising the flag himself or having subordinates raise it. Little said the district initially offered the accommodation before withdrawing it two days later.

Little took down several flags and was later placed under investigation and eventually suspended for 15 days without pay.

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The district says Little was punished not for his beliefs but for taking down state-issued Pride flags without authorization and in violation of department policy.

Little’s attorney, Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital that Little lowered the flags under the belief that he was working in a county-issued area and with the understanding that some stations are not required to fly the Pride flag because they do not have enough folds under the county’s flag policy. Jonna said other Pride flags had been removed from stations earlier that month for the same reason.

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Jonna also said there are other security guards who “destroy and desecrate” the LGBTQ flag but were not disciplined or suspended more than Little, who he said went through the proper process to request religious accommodation for flying the flag.

Gregory Winfrey, left, and Benedicto Barnachea, right, Allied Universal security guards, raise the Progress Pride Flag over the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration downtown on Thursday, June 1, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The lawsuit alleges that Little faced retaliation, harassment and discrimination after requesting housing. It also says Lifeguard Division chief Fernando Boiteux told Little that his “beliefs don’t matter,” an allegation the district disputes.

Jonna said the case is now set for trial after last week’s hearing, in which a federal judge issued a partial summary judgment and denied in part the district’s motion for summary judgment and Little’s motion for summary judgment.

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Little says he is not asking the district to end the Pride flag policy but is seeking a permanent religious accommodation that would exempt him from raising the flag himself or instructing others to do so, as well as damages and removal of disciplinary results from his personnel file.

“At the end of the day, the law requires that beliefs be treated appropriately and the district’s message to him and others like him that their beliefs don’t matter is clearly unconstitutional and discriminatory,” Jonna said.

Flags flutter in the air during the Progressive Pride Flag raising ceremony on the steps of San Fernando City Hall on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

The LA County Fire Department did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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