Debate on teachers' disciplinary actions for posting on social media about Charlie Kirk's demise intensifies over freedom of speech concerns
In a series of events that have sparked nationwide debate, at least three dozen teachers, professors, and school staff members have either left their jobs or been removed due to allegations of posting disparaging comments about Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative figure, on social media.
The controversy began at Clemson University, where three staff members were fired for posting comments deemed offensive by the Clemson University administration. The posts, which included calls to 'be a Tyler Robinson,' who is charged with murdering Kirk, and a reshared statement that 'karma is sometimes swift and ironic,' were circulated by the Clemson College Republicans.
The employee at the centre of the storm, Johnathan Perkins, a race and equity official, acknowledged having written the posts but claimed they weren't intended to reflect his employer's views. However, this hasn't stopped the backlash, with state lawmakers, South Carolina's attorney general, and President Donald Trump calling for the staffers' ousters.
The situation has also been compared to McCarthyism by a PEN staffer, Jonathan Friedman, while another PEN staff member, Tina Descovich, a co-founder of the conservative activist group Moms for Liberty, argued that it is the responsibility of the state or school district to ensure that people with a certain moral compass are not taking care of children.
The firings on campuses are not just creating a culture of fear, as suggested by a staff member with PEN America, but have also led to a barrage of harassment, including death threats, for some educators. For instance, a school district in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, faced such harassment due to a false accusation an administrator posted about Kirk. Similarly, a Washington principal went on leave after posting on Instagram, 'Too bad gun control would have been far far more effective (he'd still be alive),' in reference to Kirk's strong defense of the Second Amendment.
The Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers has labelled the investigations of teachers a 'page out of the 'authoritarian playbook,' meant to silence dissent.' Private organizations have broad discretion under the law to terminate employees for what they say outside of work, but public entities typically have a higher bar to clear. For a public employer to fire someone for speech made outside of the scope of official duties about a 'matter of public concern,' according to Supreme Court precedent, the comments also have to create a significant disruption to the government agency's mission.
The situation has also extended beyond the US, with state education agencies in Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas investigating reports about teachers' comments about Kirk. Meanwhile, conservatives dispute the notion that calling out comments glorifying Kirk's death is a form of cancel culture.
Harmeet Dhillon, the top civil rights official in the Justice Department, responded to an argument that the First Amendment protected the Clemson staff members' comments by saying, 'Not every a------ is entitled to a government job in an educational institution.'
The controversy has shed light on long-standing accusations by conservative groups and influencers that professors and administrators have been indoctrinating students with progressive ideology for years. As the debate continues, it remains to be seen how this will impact the academic environment in the US and beyond.
