Fired After the Charlie Kirk Revenge Purge, They’re Still Unemployed

In January 2025, Emily Taylor, a former English professor, felt the weight of grief wash over her as she reflected on the four months since Charlie Kirk's assassination. Taylor, who had resigned from her tenured position at Presbyterian College just prior, was one of over 600 individuals whose lives were disrupted following the shooting.

The free-speech crackdown initiated by the Trump administration in the aftermath of Kirk's death led to a mass censorship campaign, targeting those critical of the conservative commentator.

A year after the tragedy, The Intercept spoke with five people who lost their jobs and four attorneys representing seven more clients, illustrating the extent of the purge. These individuals, predominantly support staff, found themselves ensnared in one of the largest modern history cases of targeted harassment. Allen Chaney, legal director of the ACLU of South Carolina, noted the unprecedented coordination and saturation of online life, which amplified the backlash against perceived political enemies.

Taylor's story began on September 10, 2025, when she heard about Kirk's shooting while picking up her children from piano lessons. The final words of the conservative commentator were "Counting or not counting gang violence?" in response to a question about transgender mass shootings. The news prompted murals, memorials, and calls for retribution from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who urged people to target those perceived to be celebrating Kirk's murder.

Online trolls and politicians joined the cause, making it easy for individuals to harass those who were critical of Kirk. Lists of alleged "celebrators" circulated, allowing for mass harassment. Big accounts on X amplified hate, and Jimmy Kimmel's show was briefly pulled from air after a monologue criticizing MAGA's weaponization of Kirk's death. Karen Attiah, a Washington Post opinion columnist, was also fired for pointing out Kirk's anti-Blackness.

While some of the targeted individuals were public figures, most were support staff with no significant position of power. Melody Fowler-Green, an attorney representing several of the fired employees, emphasized that these workers were not well-off. Most of the individuals targetted had their jobs revoked due to the coordinated, manufactured outrage surrounding Kirk's assassination, highlighting the dangerous implications of an unchecked online army supported by powerful individuals.