When Lauren Vaughn, a kindergarten attendant in South Carolina, saw the news that right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot at an event in Utah, she opened Facebook and wrote a quote from Kirk himself.
The gun deaths, Kirk said in 2023, were unfortunate, but “worth it” if they preserved “the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.” After the quote, Vaughn added: “My thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Vaughn, a 37-year-old Christian who took mission trips to Guatemala, said her prayer request was sincere. He said he hoped that reading Kirk’s words in the context of the shooting might lead his friends to reconsider their opposition to gun control.
“Maybe they’ll listen to me now,” he recalled thinking.
A few days later, Vaughn lost his job. He was one of more than 600 people in the United States fired, suspended, investigated or disciplined by their employers for comments about Kirk’s murder on Sept. 10, according to a Reuters review of court records, public statements, local media reports and interviews with two dozen people who were fired or otherwise disciplined.
Some were fired after celebrating or mocking Kirk’s death. At least 15 people were disciplined for allegedly invoking “karma” or “divine justice,” and at least nine others were disciplined for variations of “It’s a good thing he’s gone!” Other offensive posts appeared to rejoice at the killing or express hope that other republican figures would be next. “One less, many left,” said one.
Others, like Vaughn, say they simply criticized Kirk’s political ideology.
On the pro-Kirk side, at least one academic was suspended from employment and pay after threatening to “hunt down” those who celebrated the murder.
This account is the most comprehensive to date of the backlash against Kirk’s critics, describing how senior officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, local Republican lawmakers, and like-minded influencers mobilized to impose the ideas of the Trump movement.
The report describes the pro-Trump retaliation machinery that is transforming American political life, detailing its scope and tactics, ranging from defamation on social media to public pressure on employers and threats to defund institutions. Previous Reuters reporting documented how Trump purged the federal government of employees deemed opponents of his agenda and cracked down on law firms defending people targeted by the administration.
Americans sometimes lose their jobs after speaking out during heated political moments. Twenty-two academics were fired in 2020, the year George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, most for comments deemed insensitive, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech advocacy organization.
In 2024, the first full year after the outbreak of the latest war between Israel and Gaza, more than 160 people were fired for their pro-Palestinian activism, notes Palestine Legal, an organization that protects the civil rights of Americans who support the Palestinian cause.
The backlash to comments about Kirk’s shooting is notable for its scope and public support from Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials. It represents a radical shift for Republicans, who for years criticized the left for what they called “cancel culture”: the ostracism or punishment of those whose views were considered unacceptable.
Those who support the dismissals affirm that freedom of expression does not exempt from consequences. As they indicated, high standards of conduct should be required from people such as doctors, lawyers, teachers or emergency personnel who hold positions of public trust.
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Republican officials support punitive measure after Kirk murder
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: “President Trump and his entire Administration will not hesitate to tell the truth: for years, the radical left has smeared their political opponents, calling them Nazis and fascists, inciting left-wing violence. This must end.” He added: “No one understands the dangers of political violence better than President Trump,” having survived two attempts on his life.
Turning Point USA, the youth movement Kirk founded in 2012, stated in a statement that it supports the right to free speech, “including the right of private employers to determine when a line has been crossed and an employee deserves to be fired.” However, the organization warned that while celebrating or gloating over Kirk’s death was “reprehensible and disabling behavior,” respectfully disagreeing with his ideas, statements or values is the right of every American.
Vaughn challenges his firing in a federal lawsuit filed on September 18, seeking his reinstatement. As part of the case, he presented a letter he received from the superintendent of the Spartanburg County School District, which described his comments as “inflammatory, unprofessional and inappropriate.” In response to the lawsuit, the district stated that Vaughn’s post “appeared to endorse Mr. Kirk’s murder or indicate that it was ‘worth it’ for him to lose his life to protect the constitutional rights of Americans.”
The punishments often stemmed from social media campaigns that spread screenshots of the offensive comments, along with the names and phone numbers of employers and messages such as “Internet, do your thing!” According to Reuters, what usually follows are hundreds of angry or threatening messages. Several people who were targeted by these campaigns stated in interviews that they were harassed with telephone calls. One of them recalled receiving a call every minute for an entire day. At least two said the harassment was so intense that they plan to sell their homes.
Julie Strebe, a sheriff’s deputy in Salem, Missouri, lost her job after posting comments on Facebook about the shooting, including “You don’t owe empathy to oppressors.” He later stated that he considered Kirk an oppressor because, in his words, he sought to marginalize vulnerable groups and used his platform to mobilize conservative white Christians around “racist, sexist and hateful views.” She said her bosses harassed her with calls for her dismissal and that at one point a hand-drawn sign appeared in front of her house that read: “Julie Strebe supports the murder of Charles Kirk.”
Strebe claimed to have installed five surveillance cameras in his home and now only pumps gas at night to avoid the neighbors. Moving from Salem would mean leaving his family behind, but he said the small town has become too hostile to stay. “I just don’t feel like I can let my guard down,” he said in an interview. His former employer, the Dent County Sheriff’s Office, declined to comment.
Many Republican officials supported the punitive campaign. Some proposed extraordinary measures, such as a lifetime social media ban for those deemed to rejoice at Kirk’s death.
The US State Department revoked the visas of six foreigners who, according to the agency, “celebrated the heinous murder of Charlie Kirk.” In a special episode of Kirk’s podcast, aired on September 15, Vice President JD Vance urged his listeners to take action against those celebrating Kirk’s death.
“Report them, and even call their employers,” Vance said. Vance’s office referred Reuters to statements made earlier this year in which the vice president said: “My limit is to incite violence against political opponents.”
With information from Reuters
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