In what appears to be a reversal of past rhetoric, many conservatives are now calling for people to be fired, ostracised, or punished for their responses to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, according to a report published by The Associated Press on Sunday. For the uninitiated, Kirk — a prominent right-wing activist credited with helping expand Republican President Donald Trump’s 2024 youth base — was killed after being shot earlier this week, and the reactions online since have ignited a wave of pushback from the right.
Despite years of decrying “cancel culture”, conservatives appear to now be resorting to similar tactics. Multiple US media reports suggest that right from teachers, an Office Depot worker and TV commentators to university employees have all faced consequences for posts or remarks that were seen as either celebrating or downplaying Kirk’s death.
Public Officials Lead the Charge
Following Kirk’s death, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had posted on social media site X that American Airlines had grounded pilots who were “celebrating Kirk’s assassination.”
“This behaviour is disgusting and they should be fired,” Duffy wrote at the time.
Senator Marsha Blackburn also demanded the firing of university professors who made dismissive or celebratory comments online. Several were let go, including one who wrote Kirk “spoke his fate into existence,” as reported by AP.
Political Fallout and Polarisation
For many on the right, the response to Kirk’s killing is being perceived as an attack on their political movement, analysts say.
“This is unique and different. This is an attack on a movement by using violence,“ Senator Lindsey Graham recently told NBC, adding, “That‘s the way most Republicans see this.“
Senator Katie Britt, meanwhile, blamed traditional media, reportedly saying that they contributed to a climate of hate with guests who compared Trump to Hitler. “There must be consequences with regards to people spewing that type of hate and celebration in the face of this,” AP quoted Britt as saying. “And I believe that there will be.“
A Legal and Cultural Test of Free Speech
Some civil liberties advocates have warned that this backlash is testing the boundaries of American Constitution’s First Amendment protections.
“The only time you are really supporting free speech is when it‘s unpopular,“ Adam Goldstein of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told the US-based news agency. “There‘s no one out there trying to stop people from loving puppies and bunnies,” Goldstein reportedly said, all while suggesting that political outrage over unpopular opinions is nothing new but seems heightened now. “If there was ever time to support the better angels of our nature, it‘s now.“
Govt Response Raises Eyebrows
Following Kirk‘s assassination, the US State Department under Trump announced that it might revoke visas of foreigners who celebrated the killing. “I can‘t think of another moment where the United States has come out to warn people of their impending cancellation,“ Goldstein remarked.
Social Media in the Crosshairs
Expressing bipartisan concern around the role of social media in “fuelling“ outrage and violence, Utah Governor Spencer Cox recently said on Meet the Press, “I can‘t emphasize enough the damage that social media and the internet is doing to all of us.”
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