A Nebraska state trooper who was fired for joining a group linked to the Ku Klux Klan is getting legal support from a national group of state troopers.

The 40,000 member National Troopers Coalition filed a legal brief with the Nebraska Supreme Court supporting Robert Henderson's claim that he shouldn't have been fired.

Henderson was fired last year after investigators discovered he had joined the Knights Party. The group describes itself as the most active Klan organization in the United States.

The brief from the troopers coalition is in support of Henderson's appeal of a district court decision.

The district court decision said the State Patrol acted legally when it fired Henderson, overruling an arbitrator.