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A die-hard Trumper in Florida says he was discriminated against by a right-wing political advocacy group, claiming he was called a “slave” during his 12 days with the organization before it fired him for complaining.
Carl Baxter, who is Black, is suing Americans for Prosperity, the nonprofit “grassroots” conservative operation established by Charles and David Koch, the billionaire siblings and hard-line climate change deniers.
Baxter serves as president of the Republican Club of North & East Fort Myers, and is not at all shy about his outsized affection for Donald Trump. He can be seen on social media at Trump appearances, waving a MAGA flag at a “Trump Truck Parade,” at charity galas giving the camera a Trumpian “thumbs-up,” and donning a red MAGA hat and posing with, among others, a county tax collector who has come out as a vociferous opponent of critical race theory.
AFP, which has been around since 2004, gained prominence after Barack Obama was sworn in as president. It has traditionally focused on hollowing out workers’ rights, blocking Medicaid expansion, kneecapping green energy initiatives, and pushing down the minimum wage. Since 2010, some 42 percent of AFP’s ads have been rated “false” by PolitiFact, the nonpartisan fact-checking website; none have been rated “true.” The group backed Trump’s UN ambassador Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential race before the former South Carolina governor bowed out in March.
Trump chafed at AFP’s support of Haley, posting last January to his flailing Twitter clone, Truth Social: “American’s [sic] for No Prosperity, who made more money during the Trump years than at any other time, are stupid people who are backing Birdbrain as she goes down tubes. Bad timing Charles!”
Baxter’s lawsuit, which was filed Monday and obtained by The Independent, describes him as “an African-American businessman who is active in local politics.” It says he was brought on by AFP in June 2023 to work as a part-time “grassroots associate.” Baxter’s duties “consisted of canvassing neighborhoods to talk with voters about AFP-selected policy issues and driving to and from those neighborhoods,” according to the suit.
AFP agreed to pay Baxter $20 an hour for the door-knocking duties, plus an unspecified mileage reimbursement, the lawsuit states. He started on June 14, 2023, and his job performance, according to the suit, “was exemplary.”
However, the lawsuit says Baxter quickly became disenchanted with AFP.
“Early in Plaintiff’s tenure, AFP’s Deputy Director [of] Grassroots… met Plaintiff at the Oasis restaurant in downtown Ft. Myers and offered Plaintiff $500 in bribe money to provide ‘dirt’ on Cape Coral councilmember, Patty Cummings,” the suit alleges. “Plaintiff declined. AFP’s goal was to stop President Donald J. Trump from winning the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential primaries and, locally, to oppose politicians who support President Trump.”
Baxter also felt AFP was not giving him “credit for all the hours he worked and for all the doors that he knocked on,” and shorting him on his pay, the lawsuit contends. So, 12 days into the job, the suit says he raised his concerns on a phone call with his supervisor, AFP Grassroots Engagement Director Roxanne Buckels.
Buckels, who is white, according to Baxter’s suit, “then proceeded to call [him] a ‘slave’ and demanded that he confirm he is a ‘slave,’ stating as follows: ‘I know you are doing the work and I can see the doors that you are hitting on my iPad on my side. At least you are working as a slave (sarcastically) but at least you are getting paid, many slaves today do get paid, many used to never get paid. Are you a slave?’”
Baxter was “highly offended,” and “demanded to speak with Ms. Buckels’ immediate supervisor,” the lawsuit goes on. Buckels then arranged a conference call with her boss, who is also white, according to the suit, to discuss Baxter’s concerns. A few minutes later, the supervisor called back, with AFP’s state operations director on the line — a white woman, the lawsuit says — and “terminated Plaintiff’s employment without notice, effective immediately.”
The lawsuit says Baxter still has not received the wages AFP owes him, nor has he been paid back for any of his mileage. By the same token, Baxter claims in his suit that AFP paid its white employees without issue. The suit accuses AFP of race discrimination, retaliation, and wage theft, and demands back pay and legal fees, as well as exemplary, punitive, and compensatory damages “for Plaintiff’s emotional pain and suffering.”
An AFP spokesperson told The Independent, “While we do not comment on current litigation, we take all allegations of violations of the law extremely seriously and will fully investigate those made in this complaint.”
Baxter’s attorney, Jay Lechter, told The Independent, “My client simply wants justice and to ensure that this does not happen to anyone else.”
A source with direct knowledge of the situation noted that Baxter was technically working for AFP as a contractor, and said AFP was not in fact his direct employer.
Buckels did not respond to a request for comment.
