The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal from a California fire chief who said he was fired for his religious convictions. An earlier case ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also denied the claim, is allowed to stand.

Fire Chief Ron Hittle, a 24-year veteran with the fire department in Stockton, California, filed suit claimed the city fired him after he attended a Christian leadership conference.

First Liberty Institute represented Hittle and said in a post that Hittle had been told to improve his management skills, but the city failed to specify how. First Liberty said Hittle picked a leadership seminar presented by a faith-based group. The Institute said that tipped the scale, as Hittle was told “attending a Christian seminar was unacceptable. His superiors opened a months-long investigation, belittled his beliefs, treated him like a criminal and eventually fired him.”

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