CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A part-time conductor at Chattanooga's Incline Railway has been fired after a video of comments he made to passengers on the Fourth of July spread across social media.

The video, which has gone viral on TikTok, shows the conductor addressing passengers before the train departs. . . .

The part-time conductor can be heard saying...

Happy Independence to the rest of you. Welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave... To the very, very few Americans in here, Happy Independence Day.

Nathan and Charles Scherer captured the video. They traveled to Chattanooga from Florida for 4th of July.

"I kept thinking the company needs to know about this, because he was the only one on there representing the company," Charles says.
They gave CARTA the video the same afternoon that this happened.

According to the transit agency, the Incline Railway's director met with the employee that day and immediately fired him.

UPDATE: Passengers aboard the Incline Railway when a viral video was taken on the 4th of July are now explaining the moments leading up to the camera recording, capturing what CARTA called “demeaning language.”

Father Charles Scherer and his son, Nathan, were visiting Chattanooga from Florida for the holiday. When they boarded the trolley, Nathan said the “disturbing comments” began.

“The conductor made some sort of disparaging remarks about foreigners, and then the train started.”

Nathan said the ride up the mountain was pretty silent, with most passengers expressing discomfort with the remarks. He said he thought about the incident the entire way up the mountain.

“I thought I better start recording on the way down, in case something is said, just because I know how it made us feel... I just didn't want people to have to feel this way coming to our country, or even just people who were American citizens.”

Once the Scherer’s got back on the trolley for their descent down the mountain, Nathan decided to press record.

The conductor’s comments were then captured on video.

“To the very, very few Americans in here, happy Independence Day. To the rest of you, welcome to the greatest country on the face of the planet, and if you disagree, you can leave.”