More than 40,000 Facebook users have liked a page set up to support the Massachusetts trooper facing a disciplinary hearing for releasing stark images of the capture of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect.

As of Monday, the page "Save Sgt. Sean Murphy" had garnered more than 48,000 supporters. The page calls for supporters to help save the trooper's job and says Murphy "did what I think most of us would have liked to do had we had the same resources."

On Thursday, Murphy released hundreds of images from the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in response to a Rolling Stone magazine cover showing the accused bombing in a flattering light. Murphy's images included photos of a bloodied Tsarnaev stepping out of the boat with a police sniper's red dot on his forehead.

The Massachusetts State Police has relieved Murphy of duty. He will face a disciplinary hearing scheduled for Tuesday, according to the page.

Supporters praised Murphy with a flurry of posts on the page, which was set up on Thursday. Sharron Becker-Hill said he was for "standing up for what is right." Richard Martin urged "the powers that be" to "give Sgt. Murphy a medal, a long weekend off with pay, a new camera, and an apology."