This browser does not support the Video element.
Firings over comments about Charlie Kirk fuel free speech debate
Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah says she was fired after posting about political violence in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. Attiah detailed her termination in a Substack post on Monday. She included screenshots of her comments on BlueSky that appear to be related to her removal. "
WASHINGTON - Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah says she was fired after posting about political violence in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination.
What we know:
Attiah detailed her termination in a Substack post on Monday. She included screenshots of her comments on BlueSky that appear to be related to her removal.
"Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence," Attiah posted to BlueSky three days ago.
Attiah says the Post fired her, in part, for endangering the physical safety of her colleagues.
Big picture view:
University of Maryland School of Law Professor Mark Graber says it's hard to figure out what the Post's rationale could possibly mean.
"How does that endanger my colleagues?" asked Graber. "Does it mean people who disagree with my speech might want to kill me or my colleagues? I think that's rather foolish and in some ways says that political speech, tough political speech, endangers people. And if we're there, there's no First Amendment left."
Attiah is not the only person out of a job after posting comments on social media after Kirk was killed. Eight employers have fired staff for mocking Kirk's assassination, according to FOX Business, including Nasdaq, MSNBC, and the Carolina Panthers.
Dig deeper:
The issue of free speech and political violence is particularly fraught inside the nation's colleges and universities.
Today, Clemson University announced that it terminated a staffer. A George Washington University employee is also out of a job after posting to Facebook.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted about the Clemson firing on her personal X account on Monday saying, "This is a good start. I’ll be interested to see what happens to the teachers, who are unfit to teach, if the reports are true. Federal funding for higher education is a privilege, NOT a right. The government is not obligated to fund vile garbage with our tax dollars."