Dozens of workers disciplined after Charlie Kirk shooting, from journalists to Jimmy Kimmel

In the aftermath of far-right activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, dozens across the United States have been fired, suspended or disciplined over social media posts about Kirk and his death, as employers and public officials crack down on remarks they deem “inappropriate”.

After Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on 10 September while speaking at Utah Valley University, members of the Trump administration called on the public to expose anyone appearing to be “celebrating” his killing.

“Call them out, and hell, call their employer,” JD Vance said. “We don’t believe in political violence, but we do believe in civility.”

Over the past week, conservative activists and politicians have been circulating and publicizing social media posts about Kirk and his death that they deem inappropriate and that they claim celebrates or mocks Kirk’s death. Similarly, they have waged pressure campaigns urging employers to take action against the individuals.

Civil liberties groups and free speech advocates have warned that the wave of firings and expulsions risks chilling free expression and could infringe on first amendment protections.

Here are some of the people who have reportedly been affected by the crackdown so far:

Government workers

The US Secret Service placed an employee on leave last week after reportedly writing in a Facebook post that that Kirk “spewed hate and racism on his show”, adding: “At the end of the day, you answer to GOD, and speak things into existence. You can only circumvent karma, she doesn’t leave,” according to CBS News.

A spokesperson for the agency confirmed to the Guardian: “This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun.”

The Secret Service “will not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct”, the spokesperson added.

Fox News also reported that an employee at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) was placed on administrative leave over an Instagram post describing Kirk as “the literal racist homophobe misogynist”.

A Fema spokesperson told the Guardian that the “employee’s words are revolting and unconscionable” and that the employee “was immediately placed on administrative leave”.

“We expect all public servants to uphold the highest standard of professionalism, respect and integrity,” they added.

The US Coast Guard also said on last week that it was “aware of inappropriate personal social media activity” made by one of their employees “regarding recent political violence” and that they were “actively investigating this activity and will take appropriate action to hold the individual accountable”.

On Wednesday evening, news broke that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show had been suspended “indefinitely” after comments he made about the shooting of Kirk.

In a recent broadcast, Kimmel had suggested that “many in Maga land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk”, which prompted complaints from the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr.

Carr said: “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Hours later, ABC, owned by Disney, announced that Kimmel’s show would be “pre-empted indefinitely” after after affiliate operator Nexstar called Kimmel’s remarks “offensive and insensitive”.

This came as last week MSNBC fired senior political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested on air that Kirk’s own rhetoric may have contributed to the shooting that killed him. Dowd’s remarks were condemned by MSNBC as “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable”.

In a subsequent Substack article on Friday, Dowd confirmed that MSNBC had fired him and said: “The Right Wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms, and MSNBC reacted to that mob.”

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah said on Monday that she was also fired over a series of social media posts “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns” following Kirk’s killing.

Meanwhile, PHNX Sports, an Arizona sports network, confirmed that it had parted ways with one of its employees over comments over comments related to Kirk’s death, according to multple reports. Several outlets have reported that it was one of PHNX’s sports writers.

Academics

Across the country, US educators and employees of educational institutions are being fired or placed on leave over social media posts about Kirk and his death.

At Clemson University in South Carolina, the university said on Monday that it had fired an employee “due to their social media posts” and also later announced that two faculty members had been dismissed over social media posts in response to Kirk’s killing that the school deemed “inappropriate”.

The university did not disclose the content of the posts.

Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, had publicly urged the school to terminate the employees.

“Free speech doesn’t prevent you from being fired if you’re stupid and have poor judgement,” Graham said.

In Tennessee, Republican senator Marsha Blackburn called for an employee at Middle Tennessee State University to be fired for reportedly writing in a post that they had “ZERO sympathy” for Kirk’s death.

The university confirmed to the Tennessean that the employee was terminated.

In Texas, Texas State University ended the enrollment of a student who mocked Kirk’s assassination during a campus memorial event.

At Texas Tech University, a student was also reportedly expelled after a video showed her disrupting a vigil for Kirk and shouting “F--k y’all homie dead, he got shot in the head.”

The Texas Education Agency reported that it is investigating about 180 complaints against teachers accused of posting inappropriate remarks online about Kirk’s death, according to the Texas Tribune.

The state’s teachers union called the investigations a “political witch hunt against Texas educators”.

The University of Mississippi fired a staffer who they said “re-shared hurtful insensitive comments on social media” regarding Kirk’s killing. Florida Atlantic University also reportedly placed a tenured professor on leave over sharing posts about Kirk’s politics in the wake of the assassination, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The American Association of University Professors has condemned the wave of disciplinary measures.

“The AAUP notes with great alarm the rash of recent administrative actions to discipline faculty, staff, and student speech in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk” they wrote. “We write to remind leaders of colleges and universities of their fundamental duty to protect academic freedom and the absolute necessity to ensure that the freedom to discuss topics of public import without constraint is not curtailed under political pressure.”

And not only universities have been affected. Public school teachers in at least 15 states including Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Idaho, Ohio, Oregon, Massachusetts, Michigan, Florida and Missouri have also been suspended or fired over posts about Kirk after his killing.

And in New Jersey, local outlets report that a​​ school district was forced to shelter in place last week after receiving violent threats following a controversial social media post about Kirk’s killing falsely attributed to a district employee.

Visa holders

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has announced that “visa revocations are under way” for individuals in the country on visas who are “cheering on the public assassination of a political figure”.

“Prepare to be deported,” Rubio said. “You are not welcome in this country.”

The state department did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for details on whether there have been any visa revocations in connection with comments about Kirk.

Airlines

Over the weekend, the US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said that American Airlines had “immediately grounded” pilots accused of celebrating Kirk’s death and “removed from service”.

“This behavior is disgusting and they should be fired,” Duffy said. “Any company responsible for the safety of the traveling public cannot tolerate that behavior.”

He added: “We heal as a country when we send the message that glorifying political violence is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!.”

In a statement to the Guardian, American Airlines said they condemn “violence of any kind” and that “hate-related or hostile behavior runs contrary to our purpose, which is to care for people on life’s journey.”

“Employees who promote such violence on social media were immediately removed from service,” they added. “We will continue to initiate action with team members who display this kind of behavior.”

Duffy also praised United Airlines for taking similar action and placing one of their pilots out of service for also reportedly celebrating Kirk’s death.

“They must be fired,” Duffy said. “There’s no room for political violence in America and anyone applauding it will face the consequences. ESPECIALLY those we count on to ensure the safety of the flying public.”

United Airlines told the Guardian that they have “been clear with our customers and employees that there’s zero tolerance for politically motivated violence or any attempt to justify it” and that they’ve “taken action on employees in this regard”.

CNN also reported that Delta Air Lines also suspended employees “whose social media content, related to the recent murder of activist Charlie Kirk, went well beyond healthy, respectful debate”.

The airlines did not disclose details about the posts.

Healthcare workers

On Saturday, the University of Miami’s health system announced that it had fired an employee over what they described as “unacceptable public commentary”.

“Freedom of speech is a fundamental right,” the health system said. “At the same time, expressions that condone or endorse violence or are incompatible with our policies or values are not acceptable.”

The statement did not elaborate on the remarks made.

In Michigan, a nurse was reportedly placed on leave for making controversial remarks about Kirk’s death, and another healthcare worker in Virginia was also reportedly fired over for similar reasons.

The Boston Globe reported that a Massachusetts-based biomedical research center fired an employee who allegedly posted a “deeply offensive” comment about Kirk’s killing.

Other workers

Employees in various other industries are also facing backlash over social media posts related to Kirk’s death.

The Carolina Panthers reportedly fired a public relations staffer for social media posts about Kirk and his death.

“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers,” the organization said. “We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”

A junior strategist at Nasdaq was also fired for social media posts related to Kirk’s shooting.

“Nasdaq has a zero-tolerance policy toward violence and any commentary that condones or celebrates violence,” the company said in a post on X.

Law firm Perkins Coie told Bloomberg Law that they fired a lawyer who posted a message on social media that criticized Kirk after his death.

The New Orleans and Toledo fire departments have said that they have launched investigations into employees accused of making insensitive posts about Kirk.

In Illinois, a burger restaurant reportedly fired its general manager over a social media post about Kirk’s killing and meanwhile in Michigan, an Office Depot employee was also fired after allegedly refusing to print flyers related to Kirk.

On Monday, attorney general Pam Bondi threatened to prosecute the Office Deport employee.