She's flipping the legal finger.
The Virginia woman who became an internet sensation after flipping off President Donald Trump's motorcade is suing her former employer for firing her over the middle-finger stunt.
Juli Briskman filed a lawsuit against Akima on Wednesday, charging that the government contractor violated employment law by booting her after she was caught on camera flashing her middle finger while biking alongside Trump's motorcade in Sterling, Va., on Oct. 28.
"I filed this lawsuit against my former employer today because I believe that Americans should not be forced to choose between their principles and their paychecks," Briskman, 50, said in a statement. "I never imagined that my 'one-finger salute' to the presidential motorcade and its occupant would cost me my job."
Akima, a government-contracted construction and engineering company, said it fired Briskman because the photo of her flipping the bird violated its social media policy.
But the Virginia-based company came under severe scrutiny, as Briskman noted that none of her social media profiles included information about her employer. Briskman speculated at the time that her employer was worried about losing government contracts if it kept her on the payroll after her motorcade stunt made national headlines.
The Sterling woman charged Wednesday that her firing was "swift and unexpected."
"It is un-American to let the government use your own tax dollars to buy your off-duty obedience," she said.
Akima did not return a request for comment.
Briskman's legal team said that her termination could set disturbing precedent if it goes unchallenged.
"Firing an employee because you're afraid of unlawful retaliation by the government is called 'autocratic capture,' and we need to be concerned about it in the United States," attorney Cameron Kistler said.
