SEPT. 232 UPDATE: Florida’s education commissioner announced that he’s looking to revoke a Clay County teacher’s license
Joking about Charlie Kirk’s death has consequences. Sometimes very rapid ones.
A wave of backlash, firings and public shaming is crashing down on anyone publicly commenting negatively about the conservative activist’s death and legacy, with many supporters of Kirk and President Donald Trump accusing them of celebrating Kirk’s assassination.
In the highest-profile crackdown yet, ABC on Sept. 17 indefinitely pulled the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” talk show two days after Kimmel in his monologue accused supporters of President Donald Trump of using the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged in Kirk’s death, to wage war against anyone critical of Trump.
Trump has not been shy in his second term about pressuring broadcasters to stop airing content he has found objectionable, frequently calling for late night hosts who are critical of him such as Kimmel and Stephen Colbert to be fired and posting public thanks to networks when that happened.
An analysis of news reports by USA TODAY over the past week since Kirk was killed found a wide array of people under investigation, on administrative leave or fired in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
Officials cracking down on ‘hate speech’ about Charlie Kirk
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed that the Trump administration would “absolutely target” people who use “hate speech” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, and on Sept. 15 Vice President JD Vance told listeners, “When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out. And hell, call their employer,” while guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X the Pentagon was closely tracking social media posts from servicemembers or employees “and will address, immediately.”
In a letter sent to Florida’s K-12 public schools, Florida Department of Education Commissioner Stasi Kamoutsas said teachers could lose their certifications and be fired if they post “despicable comments” about Kirk. Gov. Ron DeSantis shared it, saying, “Celebrating the assassination of a 31 year old father of two young kids is disturbing; that teachers would be among those who do so is completely unacceptable.”
The Florida Education Association, which represents more than 120,000 educators and staff statewide, responded with a statement on Thursday, Sept. 11, saying, “We will not stand quiet while educators are tried in the court of public opinion instead of receiving the due process they deserve.”
Not all of the condemned comments have mentioned Kirk’s death, but even references to his more controversial views have been categorized as “celebration” and brought anger and calls for termination.
“Calling for somebody to be disciplined because they don’t agree with what he stood for, that’s protected free speech,” said Lyrissa Lidsky, a First Amendment law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Florida residents fired for comments about Charlie Kirk
Has anyone been fired in Florida? Teachers, nurses, public workers and even other elected officials have been called out for their words, and some have lost their jobs. Here are some of the people who have seen rapid retribution.
Sept. 12: Martin County Teachers Union president removed from classrooms
Martin County Education Association president and Spectrum Academy Matt Theobald was removed from teaching duties Sept. 12 pending investigation with the Florida BOE.
In screenshots released by the district, posts reportedly by Theobald called Kirk a racist, misogynistic, fear-mongering, xenophobic neo-Nazi “who used religion to justify all of the evil things he’s said and done … People are mourning him like he’s some sort of a folk hero. I just don’t get it.”
Theobald has been reassigned to the district office while the “professional standards investigation proceeds,” district spokeswoman Jennifer DeShazo said in a text message.
Sept. 13: FAU professor put on administrative leave
Tenured art history professor Karen Leader was temporarily removed from her campus duties at at Florida Atlantic University after reposting commentary on X about Kirk.
Screenshots circulating online show that Leader reposted commentary on X from other users soon after the shooting.
One post read: “In order to honor Charlie Kirk’s dying wish, Trump should release the Epstein files.”
“What I was posting was evidence that Mr. Kirk was not an uncontroversial figure,” Leader said. “There was a narrative being really pushed that he was moderate, that he was a noncontroversial figure, that all he was looking for was civil discourse. I knew that was wrong from years of exposure to him.”
University President Adam Hasner, a DeSantis appointee, said her conduct was inconsistent with FAU’s values, without naming her. While Leader has admitted the timing of her reposts may have contributed to misunderstandings, she wasn’t backing down from her support of academic freedom and the First Amendment.
“But this isn’t really about me, because it’s happening to a lot of people,” she said. “What it is about is using violence to silence people, using inflammatory rhetoric to divide people.”
Sept. 11: Clay County teacher suspended for celebrating Kirk’s death
A teacher at Ridgeview Elementary School was suspended for two social media posts following Kirk’s death, according to the Clay County School District.
Action News Jax reported that one of the posts read, “Charlie Kirk had two kids and STILL SAID gun deaths were the cost to keep the 2nd amendment…….this philosophy led to his own death becoming an acceptable cost…… one of the top five Trump surrogates. One less evil person on this planet.”
The other, accompanying an article about the shooting, said, “This may not be the obituary. We were all hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me.”
On Sept. 22, Florida’s education commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas announced he’d found probable cause to sanction the teacher and get her license permanently revoked.
Sept. 12: 3 Lee County teachers under review
Three teachers from Lee County School District from Three Oaks Middle School in Fort Myers, Diplomat Elementary School in Cape Coral and Lemuel Teal Middle School in Lehigh Acres are under fire for their alleged posts.
Rob Spicker, director of communications for the School District of Lee County, confirmed the investigation and said none of the teachers have been fired.
“Teachers have contractual due process rights and so we need to respect those rights while we follow through this process,” Spicker said.
“We’re going to be coordinating with the education commissioner, his investigations, and when those are complete, then we will determine what, if anything, we will be able to say.”
Sept. 12: State Rep. Berny Jacques calls for Pinellas County elementary school teacher to be fired
State Representative Berny Jacques sent a letter to Pinellas County Superintendent Kevin Hendrick demanding an inestigation into a Starkey Elementary teacher he said posted “Good Riddance” on Facebook after the news of Kirk’s death was released. The teacher also went on to say that Kirk “deserved it” and was responsible for “thousands of deaths in our country,” Jacques said in an X post.
In a statement, Pinellas County Schools said they were aware of the accusations against this teacher and another Jacques accused three days late and were investigating.
Sept. 13: Neurologist fired from University of Miami
The University of Miami fired a neurologuist at UM’s Miller School of Medicine, on Sept. 13 for a social media post about Kirk.
According to school publication The Miami Hurricane, the post read, “What was done to Charlie Kirk has been done to countless Palestinian babies, children, girls, boys, women and men not just over the past two years of the ongoing genocide, but decades. And whenever it happened, and it’s on camera and we all saw it, Charlie Kirk came out to say: ‘I love this, I want more of this. The people who did this are great and I love them and they should keep doing it forever.’ As Malcom said, the chickens have come home to roost.”
“The University of Miami regrets unacceptable public commentary made by one of our employees. This individual is no longer employed by our institution. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right,” the university said in a statement. “At the same time, expressions that condone or endorse violence or are incompatible with our policies and values are not acceptable.”
Sept. 15: Second FAU professor suspended
Rebel Cole, a Florida Atlantic University finance professor who holds an endowed chair at the university, posted on X that he had been suspended and banned from campus on Sept. 16 “for challenging disgusting posts about Charlie Kirk’s assassination” from his personal account.
“This has caused grievous damage to my reputation,” the post read.
Cole’s posts, which he said were in reference to another user’s post asking what to do about people celbrating Kirk’s death, first accused the user of inciting violence and then said, “Be very afraid. We are going to hunt you down. We are going to identify you. Then we are going to make you radioactive to polite society. And we will make you both unemployed and unemployable.”
He was placed on administrative leave by FAU four days later.
Sept. 15: Central Florida teachers investigated for social media posts
Four Osceola County teachers have been called out for their posts.
“There are currently four open investigations regarding comments made by employees in regards to the death of Mr. Kirk. The teachers have been placed on alternative assignment pending the outcomes of the investigations,” Dana Schafer, Chief Communications Officer for Osceola County Schools said in a statement.
Sept. 15: State Rep. Berny Jacques calls for Pinellas County to fire another teacher
Jacques followed up his previous letter to the Pinellas superintendent with another from someone he said was a JROTC high school instructor.
In screenshots in his X post, the person alegedly blamed Trump for Kirk’s shooting, saying “You get what you preach.” Jacques also provided posts he said were from an elementary school teacher who called Kirk a misogynist whose rhetoric has killed thousands of women. The post also said, “Good riddance!”
No measures have been taken pending investigation, the school district said.
Sept. 16: Palmetto Bay council votes to remove Councilman Steve Cody over Facebook post
Palmetto Bay Village councilmembers, community members and state AG Uthmeier called for councilman Steve Cody’s resignation after a now-deleted Facebook post which included a quote of Kirk defending Second Amendment rights and read, “Charlie Kirk is a fitting sacrifice to our Lords: Smith & Wesson. Hallowed be their names,” according to a CBS News report.
The council voted 4-1 Sept. 15 to remove Cody, who said he regrets making the post but has no plans to leave his position.
Sept. 17: FWC employee fired for Instagram post
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Sept. 17 fired an employee who reportedly shared an Instagram post joking about Kirk.
The staffer apparently shared a post from X account @awhalefact that said, “the whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of charlie kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as charlie kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all.”
After receiving complaints, the FWC announced the next day that the staffer was fired.
“This weekend, we were made aware of a deeply troubling incident involving an FWC employee who shared a social media post that made light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” the state agency said in an X post. “The comments and actions of this individual are not in line with the FWC, our values, or our mission. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards the promotion of violence and hate, and we will not stand for such behavior.
“Upon learning of the social media post, FWC leadership took swift action, terminating the individual. We expect all our employees to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and always keep the public’s trust in mind,” the FWC said.
Sept. 19: Former law professor has emeritus professor designation revoked after comments
Jeffrey Harrison, a retired professor from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, saw his emeritus professor designation revoked after posting social media comments about Kirk and Trump.
“There is a lot of commentary about Charlie Kirk,” Harrison said. “It’s not that complicated. He was a evil person spounting [sic] all kinds of hateful messages. I did not want him to die. I reserve that wish for Trump. But let’s face it, even members of the Gestapo and guards at the concentration camps had children. That does not make them heros [sic], nor does it make Charlie Kirk someone to be admired.”
The univesity announced on Sept, 10 Harrison’s emeritus status had been revoked.
Who is Charlie Kirk?
Kirk, 31, was an influential political activist, author, radio host and podcaster who rose to prominence through his appearances at college and university campuses where he would debate his hard-line conservative views with all comers.
Kirk has been credited for inspiring and rallying young conservatives to fight (and vote) for personal freedom against what he called dangerous liberal ideas, but he has also outraged millions with his views on abortion, civil rights, gender issues, gay marriage and gun rights.
He was assassinated during one of those debates, in front of about 3,000 students at Utah Valley University on the first stop of “The American Comeback Tour.”
Contributors: Dinah Voyles Pulver, Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY; Jasmine Fernández, Palm Beach Post
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida teachers, others face retribution for Charlie Kirk social media. Who has been fired?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
