Backlash and Firings Follow Social Media Comments on Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

A wave of firings, suspensions, and public condemnation has swept across the country in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as individuals face severe consequences for comments made on social media and in public forums.Teachers, university staff, media personalities, and even an NFL employee are among those who have lost their jobs or are under investigation for their remarks about the shooting death of the Turning Point USA founder. Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The fallout ignited a fierce online campaign led by some conservative activists to identify and shame individuals whose posts were deemed celebratory or offensive. Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer declared her intent to expose those celebrating Kirk’s death. “I will be spending my night making everyone I find online who celebrates his death Famous,” she posted on X. “Prepare to have your whole future professional aspirations ruined.” Her social media feed was subsequently filled with the names, photos, and employers of people she targeted.Another account, Libs of TikTok, amplified a screenshot of a since-deleted Instagram comment from a New Orleans firefighter who suggested Kirk deserved to die and that the bullet was “a gift from god.” The post drew the attention of the fire department’s superintendent and the Louisiana attorney general.By Friday, a website — charliesmurderers.com — had been created to be a clearinghouse for reports on people who have applauded Kirk’s death. “Charlie Kirk was murdered,” the text on the site says. “Is an employee or a student of yours supporting political violence online? Look them up on this website.”“We have received nearly 20,000 submissions. This website will soon be converted into a searchable database of all 20,000 submissions, filterable by general location and job industry. This is a permanent and continuously-updating archive of Radical activists calling for violence. This is the largest firing operation in history,” the site says.The academic world has seen some of the swiftest repercussions. The University of Mississippi confirmed the firing of a staff member for sharing “hurtful, insensitive comments” on social media. Chancellor Glenn Boyce condemned the actions in a statement, saying, “These comments run completely counter to our institutional values of civility, fairness, and respecting the dignity of each person.”Similarly, Middle Tennessee State University terminated an employee who “worked in a position of trust directly with students” for making “callous and inappropriate comments,” which included having “ZERO sympathy” after the murder, according to President Sidney McPhee. “The comments by this employee, who worked in a position of trust directly with students, were inconsistent with our values and have undermined the university’s credibility and reputation with our students, faculty, staff and the community at large,” Mr. McPhee said. “This employee has been fired effective immediately. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Kirk family.”In Greenville, South Carolina, a teacher at Southside High School, Wynne Boliek, was suspended after he allegedly posted to Facebook, “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO America became greater today. There I said it,” the Hill reported.The Greenville County School District released a statement saying: “We are aware of an inappropriate message on social media attributed to Wynne Boliek, a teacher at Southside High School. Mr. Boliek has been placed on administrative leave while we fully investigate and follow the required due process. As this is a personnel matter, we are prevented from providing further details. As always, we expect all staff members to conduct themselves in a professional manner that best represents our district and schools.”School employees in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio are also reportedly under investigation. In Florida, the education commissioner, Anastasios Kamoutsas, issued a stark warning to the state’s teachers, threatening sanctions, including the revocation of teaching licenses, for “despicable” statements.“I will be conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior,” Mr. Kamoutsas said in a memo to school district superintendents. “Govern yourselves accordingly.”The media landscape was not immune to the controversy. An MSNBC political analyst, Matthew Dowd, was fired for on-air remarks made shortly after the shooting. “He was constantly pushing this sort of hate speech aimed at certain groups,” Mr. Dowd said on the air shortly after the shooting. “And I always go back to: Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”MSNBC’s president, Rebecca Kutler, called the comments “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” and both she and Mr. Dowd issued apologies. Mr. Dowd later clarified his comments, saying, “Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack.”Despite the apology, the network terminated his contract, ending a nearly two-decade career as a television commentator for the former aide to President George W. Bush. The incident has led to calls for Ms. Kutler’s resignation as well.A CBS News anchor, Nate Burleson, also faced criticism for asking a former House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, if the tragedy was a moment for the Republican Party to reflect on political violence.In the sports world, a public relations employee for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, Charlie Rock, was fired after allegedly posting on Instagram about Kirk’s death, saying, “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it,” and added a reference to the Wu-Tang Clan song “Protect Ya Neck,” according to one website. Kirk was shot in the neck.A writer for the Arizona media company PHNX Sports and a comic book writer for DC Comics also lost their jobs over online posts. Trans writer Gretchen Felker-Martin’s “Red Hood” series was canceled after just one issue. In a pair of social media posts, she said, “Hope the bullet’s okay after touching Charlie Kirk,” and, “Thoughts and prayers you Nazi b—-.”“At DC Comics, we place the highest value on our creators and community and affirm the right to peaceful, individual expression of personal viewpoints. Posts or public comments that can be viewed as promoting hostility or violence are inconsistent with DC’s standards of conduct,” the company said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.

Backlash and Firings Follow Social Media Comments on Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

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