8 employers that fired staff for mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination

Employers across the country are taking disciplinary action against workers who mocked the assassination of Charlie Kirk, with many going as far as firing.

At least eight companies and organizations have given employees the axe so far after the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

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The company behind the New York-based stock exchange fired an employee on Friday for social media posts related to Kirk’s shooting, saying they were in clear violation of its policy.

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

The employee was a woman who worked as a junior-level sustainability strategist at Nasdaq, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, without disclosing further details.

Broad Institute

The Massachusetts-based biomedical research center, which is a joint venture between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, fired an employee who allegedly posted a “deeply offensive” comment on their personal social media account regarding the killing of Kirk, according to the Boston Globe, citing a company spokesperson. 

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Perkins Coie

The law firm, based in Seattle, fired a lawyer who posted a message on social media that criticized Kirk after his death, a spokesman told Bloomberg Law. 

“We are aware of the comments posted on social media by a former Perkins Coie employee in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death,” the spokesperson told the outlet. “These comments do not reflect the views of our firm, and the individual’s conduct in posting them fell far short of the expectations we have of everyone who works here.”

Perkins Coie, which has 21 offices across the country, deems itself “[t]he creative pioneer of modern political law,” according to its website, and has had clients including the Democratic National Committee.

Office Depot

Office Depot fired an employee at one of its Michigan locations after a viral video showed staff refusing to print posters for a Kirk vigil.

The company told Fox News that it was “deeply concerned” by the incident that took place at its Portage store.

Office Depot said Friday night that an “immediate internal review” was launched, and the employee involved in the incident is “no longer with the organization.” The company also said it reached out to the customer as soon as it learned of the incident “to address their concerns and seek to fulfill their order to their satisfaction.” 

Joe Burrow Foundation

The nonprofit, founded by National Football League quarterback Joe Burrow and his parents in October 2022, focuses on youth mental health and food insecurity, according to its website. 

Just two days after Kirk’s assassination, the charity posted that it “terminated an advisory board member that made inappropriate remarks in light of recent events.”

The board member was identified by local Fox 19 in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Ted Berry, a county judge. 

MSNBC

Political analyst Matthew Dowd was seen as the first of many figures to face consequences for his comments.

Dowd was fired from the network after his comments during MSNBC’s coverage of the shooting. Dowd was asked about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” 

In response, Dowd said: “He’s [Kirk] been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. 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. 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.” 

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers fired an employee, Charlie Rock, who made social media posts following Kirk’s assassination.

A source briefed on the Panthers’ decision confirmed to Fox News Digital that Rock, a member of the team’s communications department, was fired on Thursday. 

Social media posts linked to Rock appeared to show him questioning why people were sad that Kirk had been shot and killed. The song “Protect Ya Neck” from the Wu-Tang Clan was also shared.

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

West Ada School District

The West Ada School District fired a Meridian High School employee after she allegedly posted a video celebrating Kirk’s death.

Annika Rutz graduated just last year from the school, the Idaho Dispatch reported. She was working as a cheerleading coach for the school after being on the team during her high school career, the local media outlet said. 

Fox News Digital’s Daniella Genovese, Sophia Compton and Reuters contributed to this report.