The Washington Post has terminated columnist Karen Attiah after she shared social media posts addressing race and gun violence in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Attiah’s remarks, which included altering Kirk’s prior statements to portray him as a racist, sparked significant backlash.
Following Kirk’s death at a Utah campus event and a separate Colorado school shooting, Attiah posted on Bluesky, condemning America’s “ritualized responses” to violence, such as “thoughts and prayers,” while criticizing the lack of action to address gun-related deaths. She also shared screenshots of her posts, including one stating, “Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for [W]hite men who espouse hatred and violence.”
Attiah defended her actions, noting she referenced Kirk’s own words from a 2023 interview. She wrote, “‘Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a [W]hite person’s slot’- Charlie Kirk,” a quote she claimed reflected his rhetoric on affirmative action.
The controversy extended beyond Attiah. MSNBC fired senior political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested on air that Kirk’s “radical rhetoric” might have contributed to the shooting. Dowd’s comments, which linked hateful speech to violent outcomes, led to an apology and his dismissal.
A website called CharliesMurderers.com has emerged, aggregating public online comments about Kirk’s death. It claims to document instances of political violence without doxxing private individuals, though some submissions include screenshots of private messages. The site emphasizes its focus on publicly shared content, stating it aims to “collect and archive” such remarks for transparency.
The situation has ignited debate over free speech, with critics arguing that while individuals have the right to express views, they must face consequences for their words.