By T.J. Muscaro
Multiple companies across the United States have issued warnings to employees that they won’t have a job to go back to on Monday if they post comments celebrating or mocking the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The affected professions range from educators to airline pilots. One of the more prominent early cases was the firing of MSNBC analyst Mike Dowd on Sept. 11, the day after Kirk was fatally shot.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sept. 13 said that multiple pilots employed by American Airlines have been immediately grounded and removed from service, and Delta Airlines employees have also been suspended pending investigation.
“This behavior is disgusting, and they should be fired,” Duffy wrote on X in response to the American Airlines news. “Any company responsible for the safety of the traveling public cannot tolerate that behavior.”
The same day, Florida’s Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas announced that he will conduct “an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior,” after a public school in Clay County announced the departure of one of their teachers.
“I commend Superintendent Broskie @oneclayschools for taking swift action to suspend a teacher who despicably celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk,” Kamoutsas wrote on X.
On Sept. 13, Florida Atlantic University’s president, Adam Hasner, announced that a tenured faculty member had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into his comments regarding Kirk’s assassination.
“Our focus remains on our academic community’s responsibility to promote civil discourse, conduct healthy debate, and treat one another with respect,” Hasner wrote in his statement. “This applies to all students, faculty, and staff, no matter their political leanings.”
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced his department’s own investigations on Sept. 12 after comments made online by teachers were brought to his attention.
“Such posts could constitute a violation of the Educators Code of Ethics, and each instance will be thoroughly reviewed to determine whether sanctionable conduct has occurred, and staff will investigate accordingly,” he said.
Clemson University in South Carolina issued a statement condemning any posts glorifying political violence after three faculty members were flagged for their comments.
“We stand firmly on the principles of the U.S. Constitution, including the protection of free speech,” the statement reads. ”However, that right does not extend to speech that incites harm or undermines the dignity of others. We will take appropriate action for speech that constitutes a genuine threat which is not protected by the Constitution.”
None of the faculty members have been fired, and the South Carolina Freedom Caucus has called for a special session in the state legislature to defund the school.
“I proudly support their efforts and hope that the legislature will act swiftly to send a decisive message to all institutions which receive state money: you cannot sit idly by while people under your purview glorify political violence,” Ralph Norman, a Republican candidate for South Carolina governor. ”It cannot be tolerated for a single second, and if you refuse to act, we will strip you of every red cent the hardworking taxpayers have given you.”
Office Depot employees were also fired for refusing to print posters featuring Charlie Kirk for a vigil.
Meanwhile, people continue to flag posts from users on social media who spoke favorably of or justified Kirk’s assassination, sharing screenshots of the poster’s comments, profile, and tagging their employers.
