Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Mayor Kasim Reed and the city, saying he was terminated in 2015 because of his religion.

Attorneys with faith-based nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom are representing Cochran in the suit, filed in a U.S. District Court. They say Cochran's self-authored religious book, which contained controversial passages about homosexuality, cost him his job.

The mayor has repeatedly said Cochran's judgment — and not his faith — is why he was terminated after serving a 30-day suspension without pay.

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President Donald Trump speaks ahead of the signing of the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025. (Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., speaks during a town hall on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Atlanta at the Cobb County Civic Center. (Jason Allen/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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