(NEXSTAR) – Teachers, firefighters, elected officials and even a cable news contributor have lost their jobs or are under investigation after comments they made about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Reports of teachers and school administrators around the country being put on leave proliferated Thursday less than 24 hours after Kirk’s death. School employees in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, Ohio were all being investigated for posts made on social media.
At least one teacher in South Carolina was fired for a post about Kirk’s death that read: “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO America became greater today. There I said it.”
A teacher and city councilor in Cornelius, Oregon, wrote the assassination “really brightened up my day,” landing him in hot water.
A public relations employee for the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers was terminated, according to The Athletic, after reportedly posting on his personal Instagram account: “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it,” with an image of the Wu-Tang hit “Protect Ya Neck.”
Matthew Dowd, an MSNBC contributor, was also fired by the network for comments he made on the air during breaking news coverage on Wednesday.
“He was constantly pushing this sort of hate speech aimed at certain groups,” Dowd said, according to The Hill. “And I always go back to: Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. … You can’t say these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place.”
While Dowd’s comments were made live on-air with a large audience, some were made in more private channels but have been brought to light by right-wing activists, WIRED reports.
Laura Loomer, a conservative media personality with a large following, posted on X, “I will be spending my night making everyone I find online who celebrates his death Famous, so prepare to have your whole future professional aspirations ruined if you are sick enough to celebrate his death. I’m going to make you wish you never opened your mouth.”
Her social media feed Thursday was filled with the names, pictures and job titles of people who she said should be fired for comments they made following Kirk’s death.
Another far-right social media influencer, who posts under the account Libs of TikTok, was also on the case. A firefighter in New Orleans had posted an Instagram comment, which she later deleted, suggesting Kirk deserved to die and the bullet was “a gift from god.” But the deleted comment had been screenshotted and shared on Libs of TikTok, drawing the attention of the fire department’s superintendent and the Louisiana attorney general.
Kirk was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon. He was taken to the hospital where he died. As of Thursday afternoon, the suspect was still at large.
Jeremy Tanner contributed to this report.
