 "Dozens of people have been fired in the US since Charlie Kirk's assassination. Here's why")
Conservatives in the US have long rallied against cancel culture. Much of their attention and outrage in recent years, particularly during elections, has been directed at “leftists,” liberal groups, and institutions that have seemingly cast conservatives out of the mainstream — and out of jobs — for holding views deemed politically incorrect.
Over this period, conservatives have taken great pains to paint themselves as the champions of free speech. But now, Republicans, including elected officials and prominent online figures, are making lists of people they want fired for criticising Charlie Kirk in the aftermath of his killing.
In recent days, dozens of people have been fired or suspended for social media posts responding to the death of Kirk, who was himself often accused of making racist and demeaning comments about women, Black people, and minorities, as well as displaying transphobia.
Among those who have lost their jobs or been suspended are journalists, politicians, teachers, and firefighters. Kirk, on Wednesday (10 September), became the victim of what authorities in the US are calling a political assassination. Authorities have arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old college student from Utah, for the killing.
But how has Kirk’s death led to a wave of job firings and suspensions?
What happened?
Among the first — and arguably the highest-profile — firing was that of Matthew Dowd. The ex-Republican political strategist and aide to President George W. Bush was terminated from his role at MSNBC for his remarks as news of the incident broke.
Dowd said that Kirk was “constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.
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More Shorts“You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in,” Dowd added.
Dowd later clarified that he did not know Kirk had died when he made these remarks. He apologised in a newsletter, but that was not enough for MSNBC, which fired him immediately.
“The Right Wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms, and MSNBC reacted to that mob,” Dowd wrote.
While free speech is protected under the US Constitution, private firms can fire employees for any reason — including social media posts.
A concerted campaign
These firings aren’t entirely random.
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who is known for spreading conspiracy theories, has also targeted people’s jobs over their views.
Hours after Kirk’s death, Loomer wrote 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.”
US Senator Marsha Blackburn has joined in.
The Republican from Tennessee highlighted a social media post by Laura Sosh-Lightsy, a Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) employee, who wrote that they had “zero sympathy” for Kirk’s death.
Sosh-Lightsy was immediately fired.
“No university employee who celebrates the assassination of Charlie Kirk should be trusted to shape the minds of the next generation in the classroom. The firing of this MTSU employee was the right decision, and it sends a clear message that this kind of reprehensible behaviour must not be tolerated,” Blackburn said in a statement.
A Secret Service agent who wrote on Facebook that Kirk “spewed hate and racism” has been placed on leave.
“At the end of the day, you answer to God, and speak things into existence. You can only circumvent karma, she doesn’t leave,” Anthony Pough wrote.
Blackburn again intervened, demanding Pough’s firing in a letter to Secret Service Director Sean Curran.
“As our nation mourns the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, a rogue @SecretService agent posted on Facebook suggesting that he deserved to be murdered,” Blackburn wrote on X. “I am calling for this agent’s immediate termination. It’s time to root out the rot in the Secret Service.”
Others fired or suspended over anti-Kirk posts include a Marine, a Carolina Panthers communications coordinator, and a reporter who was suspended for texting a question about gun control to a Republican representative from Florida.
“I’m so sorry President Trump, but the unemployment numbers next month in the jobs report are going to be very high,” Loomer wrote last week.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has demanded that staff “find and identify military members, and any individual associated with the Pentagon, who have mocked or appeared to condone Charlie Kirk’s murder.”
Several employees are said to have been suspended based on their social media posts.
A website known as ‘Expose Charlie’s Murderers’ has been set up to target people.
It claims to have “received nearly 30,000 submissions” about people it claims are calling for violence.
“This website will soon be converted into a searchable database of all 30,000 submissions, filterable by general location and job industry. This is a permanent and continuously updating archive of radical activists calling for violence,” it states, insisting that it is not “doxxing” people.
Free speech for me, but not for thee
Ironically, Republicans have reacted rather differently when political violence was inflicted on Democrats.
Senator Mike Lee, who denounced Kirk’s killing as a “cowardly act of violence,” did not share the same opinion when Minnesota’s former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed.
Lee spread conspiracy theories about the incident on social media, writing: “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”
He also posted a picture of the shooter with the caption “Nightmare on Waltz Street” — a dig at Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Many on social media called out Lee for his blatant hypocrisy, leading him to quietly delete the posts.
Similarly, when Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was assaulted with a hammer at his home, many on the right — including Donald Trump’s son — spread jokes and conspiracy theories suggesting drug use and a secret homosexual affair.
Kirk, in the aftermath, told his audience about the suspect: “If some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out.”
Republicans seem to have taken to heart the notion of free speech for me, but not for thee.
With inputs from agencies
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