Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA and executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” posted about the photo on his X account on November 1, saying the educators deserved to be “famous and fired.”

“Concerned parents just sent us this image of what’s believed to be teachers in @vailschools in Tuscon, Arizona mocking Charlie’s murder with costumes that read ‘Problem Solved’ and blood down the left side of their shirts,” read Kolvet’s post. “They deserve to be famous, and fired.”

However, John Carruth, the school district superintendent, said the shirts were unrelated to anything about Kirk’s death. The school district’s superintendent said the shirts were “part of a math-themed Halloween costume meant to represent solving tough math problems” and that the shirts “were never intended to target any person, event, or political issue.”

“Unfortunately, the image is being shared online with false claims that they were intended as a statement of recent events in our country,” said Carruth in a statement released to parents in the district. “This is unequivocally untrue. The shirts were purchased online and were also worn last year as part of the same math-themed costumes, long before recent events. For anyone questioning the validity that the shirts were worn last year, I am happy to provide the photo to you.”

“We understand how this image could be misunderstood and taken out of context, especially by people who are not associated with the teachers or the school,” read the letter. “We are truly sorry for the hurt or upset it has caused.”

A search for the “Problem Solved” T-shirt revealed that it started being sold long before Kirk’s assassination. An Amazon ad for the product revealed users providing reviews after purchasing it as early as 2024. There was also an Instagram post from a math teacher in October 2024 (seemingly not from the same school district) asking her followers what “math” Halloween costume she should wear, with one of the three options she posted being the “Problem Solved” shirt. 

Despite this, as of early Monday morning, Kolvet’s post had 9.5 million views and over 32,000 likes on X. It was circulated by numerous social media influencers, such as Benny Johnson, who called the post “sick and evil” and claimed “they aren’t even hiding it anymore.” Other posts appeared to doxx the teachers in the photo, providing the alleged names and phone numbers of those in the picture. 

Rep. Rachel Keshel, a Republican elected official from Arizona’s 17th district in the state’s House of Representatives, also reposted Kolvet, saying she was “deeply outraged by the recent reports of staff at Vail Unified School District donning costumes that seemingly mock the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk—complete with ‘Problem Solved’ slogans and simulated blood stains on the same side that Charlie’s fatal wound was on.

Conservative activist Riley Gaines promoted the picture as well in a post on X.

“Don’t you see? They view you as a problem and they want you DEAD,” Gaines said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ) quoted Kolvet’s original post on his X account, stating, “It’s been really disturbing to see teachers across the country glorifying a murder just because they disagreed with the victim.” Numerous other influencers, commentators, and politicians reposted the story about the Arizona teachers.

Kolvet later posted Carruth’s response and explanation later on November 1. He also provided an update about the picture, which seemed to confirm the explanation of the costume. DeSantis also provided the update and explanation.

“Vail Schools said these math teachers wore the same costume last year,” Kolvet said. “I was waiting for confirmation, and it appears they did. I am updating the thread with the image. We’ve seen enough evil since Charlie’s murder that I’d actually be relieved if this isn’t another example.” 

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Incidentally, Carruth’s reply, which was initially posted to the Vail school district’s Facebook page, was later removed without explanation.

Some have claimed that the post is an example of the dangers of social media, where people do not accurately vet news stories. Whereas Kolvet’s original post had over 9.5 million views and 32,000 likes, the updated statement had less than 3 million views and over 7,000 likes. There have been reports of other educators mocking Kirk’s death, such as this teacher in Chicago, during the No Kings Protest last month. However, it does not appear the teachers at Cienega High School are an example of that.