Anniston Police Officer Fired For League Of The South Membership Has First Appeal Hearing

Josh Doggrell

In the first testimony in the appeal of former Anniston Police Lt. Josh Doggrell, who was fired in June for his affiliations with the neo-Confederate League of the South (LOS), a former police chief refuted statements the officer made in a 2013 speech.

In that speech to an LOS national conference, Doggrell told the audience that many in the police department, including his superiors, were well aware of his membership and, in fact, supported him.

“It’s wonderful to go back and show my bosses all the radicals that I cavort with on the weekends,” Doggrell boasted during his speech that was posted to YouTube earlier this year.

But McGrady refuted Doggrell’s claims that the department supported his membership in the League and that McGrady had told him, “We pretty much think like you do.”

The testimony from the Anniston police leadership, past and present, directly contradicts what Doggrell has previously said about his superiors’ knowledge of his LOS membership –– statements his attorneys believe will save his job.

In a statement quoted on Occidental Dissent, the white nationalist blog of fellow LOSer Brad Griffin, Doggrell again stressed that leadership was well aware of his membership.

“For years, my affiliation with the League has intermittently come up at my job. I have told them if ever it came to it, I would choose the League over my job. The previous police chiefs were supportive. This one was not," Doggrell said.

McGrady also testified on Wednesday that while he was aware of Doggrell’s membership in the League, he did not realize the extent of the group’s beliefs, stating that he believed the LOS only advocated “limited government.”

In reality, the LOS promotes a second Southern secession in order to form a white, Christian society. In recent months, LOS President and longtime friend of Doggrell’s, Michael Hill, has become increasingly anti-Semitic and taken to openly ruminating about a race war while encouraging his constituents to take up arms.

“Southerners, arm yourselves, organize yourselves, and be prepared to defend your lives and property from those lawless elements that threaten them,” wrote Hill in a LOS press release. “We encourage all patriotic Southerners to join us in The League of the South”

During his testimony, McGrady recounted that Doggrell would never participate in the pledge of allegiance at Fraternal Order of Police meetings. Instead he would stay seated or turn his back to the American flag. When describing Doggrell's affiliation with the LOS, McGrady sadi, "He questioned my integrity and the integrity of the police department. 

Doggrell, who joined the League in 1995 while a student at the University of Alabama, is the founder and chairman of its John C. Calhoun chapter. The final hearing before the board is scheduled to take place in September.