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Public school teachers across the nation found themselves in hot water for posting controversial social media posts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week.
The Turning Point USA founder, a father of two and prominent conservative influencer, was shot and killed while speaking to thousands of college students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday. Tyler Robinson, 22, was identified on Friday as the suspect in Kirk’s assassination.
As news spread, some educators posted reactions on social media that were widely shared and sparked calls for their firing.
Samantha Marengo, a special education teacher at King Elementary School in Framingham, Mass., was one of them. She allegedly filmed herself singing “God Bless America” next to a TV newscast announcing Kirk’s death and posted it to her Instagram, which has since been deleted. The video was preserved online by Libs of TikTok.
Framingham Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay told Fox News Digital that Marengo has been placed on leave pending an internal review.
“As a district, we are committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment for everyone. We do not condone violence or hateful behavior in any form,” Tremblay said.
Superintendent Kevin Swartz posted a statement to Facebook saying that the teacher, who was not identified, was placed on leave pending an investigation.
“It is comforting to know the NCS community values kindness, empathy, compassion, and civility. As a district, we stand with you in doing all we can to uphold these values which are essential to model for our students,” Swartz said.
Christopher Condon, a technology education teacher in the Crawford Central school district in Pennsylvania, also shared inflammatory posts after Kirk’s death. According to the Meadville Tribune, one alleged post reportedly read, “He made millions of dollars by spreading lies and hate that helped divide this nation. I have not one single F to give. Karma’s a b—h, eh?”
Crawford Central School District confirmed to Fox News Digital that Condon had been placed on administrative leave and said that the district did not “condone or endorse the statements expressed in the post.”
Southside High School social studies teacher Wynne Boliek of Greenville, S.C., also reportedly posted: “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO America became greater today. There I said it.” He was fired Thursday following an internal investigation, Greenville County Schools confirmed in a statement.
Matthew Kargol, an arts teacher at Oskaloosa High School in Iowa, reportedly wrote “1 Nazi down” after Kirk was murdered. He is on paid administrative leave and faces an emergency hearing before the school board on Sept. 17, Oskaloosa Schools confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Joanna Schveder, an intervention specialist at Canterbury Elementary in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, reportedly posted: “May you never find rest and always suffer in eternity, Charlie Kirk. That’s Karma.” The district said it was investigating the matter and the employee had been placed on leave.
“The contents of the apparent post are reprehensible and do not align with our school district’s core values,” the school district also said.
School districts in Maryland and Texas are also reviewing cases of educators accused of celebrating Kirk’s death online.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that more than 100 teachers in the state will have their teaching certifications suspended after investigators found they had called for or encouraged violence following Kirk’s assassination.
“The Texas Education Agency is investigating Texas teachers whose actions called for or incited violence following the Charlie Kirk assassination,” Abbott wrote on X. “Those educators—more than 100—will have their teacher certification suspended and be ineligible to teach in a Texas public school.”
Education officials in Florida and Oklahoma issued similar warnings to educators last week.
Fox News Digital reached out to Marengo, Kargol, Condon, Freivald, and Schveder for comment but did not receive responses.
The backlash over these posts comes as a growing number of public servants, from health care workers to government employees, face professional consequences for their controversial posts after Kirk’s assassination.
Free speech organization FIRE raised concern that “cancel culture” had compounded the tragedy of Kirk’s murder.
“As free speech advocates, it places us in a painful position. Charlie Kirk’s assassination was an attack on free speech and open discourse. In a free society, we must not be afraid to express our views, no matter how strongly some might oppose them. That’s the point of free speech. But it is precisely for that reason why we must not respond to mockery of Kirk’s assassination by canceling everyone who offends us: because that too creates a society where people are afraid to express themselves,” Adam Goldstein, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at FIRE, wrote in a blog post Friday.
Kirk’s death comes as lawmakers and political figures in the U.S. face increasing threats of violence nationwide.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
The post Public school teachers face backlash for social media posts mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination appeared first on Fox News.
