Conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death has brought about a new challenge related to corporate discipline, as companies fire or suspend employees for celebrating Kirk’s murder online.
Yesterday, Vice President JD Vance called on Americans to report people who make posts defending or celebrating Kirk’s death to their employers.
Highlights
- JD Vance urged Americans to report employees celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death to their employers, linking such acts to far-left ideology.
- Multiple companies, including Microsoft, Office Depot, MSNBC, and Nasdaq, have fired or suspended employees for social media posts about Kirk’s shooting.
- Republican figures called for strict action against those defending Kirk’s murder, demanding firings, defunding, and license revocations.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. He co-founded Turning Point USA and was a prominent ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.
JD Vance called on Americans to report people celebrating Kirk's death to their employers
Image credits: Trent Nelson/Getty Images
While Kirk’s death sparked grief among his supporters, some left-wing voices online celebrated his death. Many compared him to Adolf Hitler, while others called him a “Nazi” and said he “deserved” to be shot.
Vance, who guest-hosted The Charlie Kirk Show on Monday, issued uncited claims implying that Kirk's killer was motivated by far-left ideology.
“It is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left,” Vance said on the show.
However, a 2023 study by The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that people motivated by right-wing ideologies committed 96% of incidents in which extremists killed someone.
“When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out, and hell, call their employer,” Vance said. “We don’t believe in political violence, but we do believe in civility.”
Vance argued that left-leaning Americans are “much more likely to defend and celebrate political violence.”
Other Republicans have also called for similar actions.
Florida congressman Randy Fine said in an X post on Sunday, “I will demand their firing, defunding, and license revocation,” and called for such people to “be thrown out of civil society.”
South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace asked the Department of Education to “cut off every dime to any school or university” that does not take any action against employees making insensitive posts about Kirk.
In the days since Kirk’s death, companies across the U.S. have announced suspensions, firings, and investigations tied to employees’ social media activity.
Image credits: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
Microsoft said it is reviewing online remarks made by some staff members. The company stated that “comments celebrating violence against anyone are unacceptable and do not align with our values.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had publicly pressed Microsoft to respond after reports that workers at Blizzard, its gaming subsidiary, had posted comments “trashing” Kirk.
Office Depot fired an employee at a Michigan store after a video circulated showing staff refusing to print flyers for a vigil honoring Kirk.
Office Depot fired an employee at a Michigan store after a video circulated showing staff refusing to print flyers for a vigil honoring Kirk.
The company apologized, calling the behavior “completely unacceptable and insensitive.”
“On behalf of the Company, we sincerely apologize for this regrettable situation,” it said.
Microsoft, Office Depot, MSNBC, and Nasdaq have already fired employees
Nasdaq confirmed it dismissed an employee for posts about Kirk’s killing.
“Nasdaq has a zero-tolerance policy toward violence and any commentary that condones or celebrates violence,” the company said on X.
MSNBC terminated the employment of political analyst Matthew Dowd after he made remarks about Kirk during a live broadcast.
MSNBC terminated the employment of political analyst Matthew Dowd after he made remarks about Kirk during a live broadcast.
“And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in,” Dowd had said on air on MSNBC.
“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.”
MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said the comments were “inappropriate, insensitive, and unacceptable.”
Dowd later wrote that his words were taken out of context.
“The Right Wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms, and MSNBC reacted to that mob,” Dowd wrote in a Substack article Friday.
“Even though most at MSNBC knew my words were being misconstrued, the timing of my words forgotten (remember I said this before anyone knew Kirk was a target), and that I apologized for any miscommunication on my part, I was terminated by the end of the day.”
Delta Air Lines, the Carolina Panthers, and law firm Perkins Coie are among other companies that have suspended and fired employees over social media posts.
Delta Air Lines, the Carolina Panthers, and law firm Perkins Coie are among other companies that have suspended and fired employees over social media posts.
Image credits: Nordin Catic/Getty Images
Schools and hospitals have not escaped this either. Clemson University in South Carolina confirmed it removed one worker and placed two professors on leave for “inappropriate” social media activity.
The University of Miami’s health-care system and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta each dismissed employees for their comments.
The firings have fueled debate about free speech and political pressure.
Steven Collis, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the BBC that constitutional free speech rights do not protect workers from consequences imposed by private employers, and apply to governmental restrictions on citizens' speech.
But Risa Lieberwitz of Cornell University’s Worker Institute told the BBC that public figures urging employers to punish workers for speech could be infringing on their right to free speech.
Reports suggest some employee terminations followed pressure from online campaigns.
A website collected 30,000 submissions identifying individuals who have posted about Kirk
CNN reported that a website called Expose Charlie’s Murderers collected 30,000 submissions identifying individuals who posted about Kirk. The site went offline over the weekend.
Canadian writer Rachel Gilmore told CNN she never celebrated Kirk’s death but faced “a tsunami” of harassment after being listed there.