GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A county jailer in Florida has been fired after telling investigators he was an officer of the Ku Klux Klan.

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An internal affairs report by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office says Detention Officer Wayne Kerschner defended the KKK as a faith-based organization.

Kerschner told investigators that he blogged on a KKK Web site, attended a rally in Tennessee and paid dues to the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He said his wife was also a member.

Kerschner was fired Wednesday for violating a department ban on subversive or terrorist organizations. He had worked four years at the jail in Gainesville. A phone number for Kerschner could not be found Thursday.

The investigation started after a tip from a sheriff's deputy working on an FBI investigation.