I’m hearing a lot of muttering about free speech rights relating to the Capitol protest/attempted coup last week. A number of people have been fired by employers after storming the Capitol, and they are complaining about their rights being violated.
So this raises the question: Can I be fired for attending the Capitol protest?
Short answer is yes, with some limited exceptions.
But if your question is: Can I be fired for storming the Capitol?
The answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
The difference is attending a protest versus engaging in clearly illegal activity. Those that stormed the Capitol are guilty of crimes ranging from vandalism to burglary to sedition to felony murder, among other things, so emloyers can definitely fire you for committing a crime. Extra bonus firing if you wore company insignia while committing the crime.
In general, remember that the First Amendment doesn’t protect you at all in a non-government workplace, and government workers have little protection in such situations.