{"id":2657902,"date":"2026-09-10T21:47:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T01:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/haters-who-insulted-charlie-kirks-memory-after-he-was-killed-got-big-payouts-or-were-reinstated\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T21:52:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T01:52:40","slug":"haters-who-insulted-charlie-kirks-memory-after-he-was-killed-got-big-payouts-or-were-reinstated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/haters-who-insulted-charlie-kirks-memory-after-he-was-killed-got-big-payouts-or-were-reinstated\/","title":{"rendered":"Haters Who Insulted Charlie Kirk\u2019s Memory After He Was Killed Got Big Payouts or Were Reinstated"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhaters-who-insulted-charlie-kirks-memory-after-he-was-killed-got-big-payouts-or-were-reinstated%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2657902&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Following Charlie Kirk\u2019s death in 2025, over 600 individuals-including law enforcement officers, healthcare workers, educators, journalists, military personnel, and others-were fired, suspended, or disciplined for posting about his assassination. Many faced consequences after mocking or disparaging Kirk on social media,with some later being reinstated and receiving meaningful financial settlements. Notably, ABC\u2019s Jimmy Kimmel was briefly suspended for falsely claiming Kirk\u2019s assassin was a MAGA conservative. Several cases involved individuals challenging their punishments and winning settlements or compensation, such as public defender Maria Ruhtenberg, high school teacher Melisa Crook, university professors Rebel Cole, Karen Leader, and Darren michael, and a journalist for the Washington Post. additionally, Tennessee paid over $3.2 million in related lawsuits.The overall incident highlights the repercussions faced by those engaging with Kirk\u2019s death on social media, as well as instances of reinstatement and monetary awards following legal disputes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Following Charlie Kirk\u2019s death last year, various individuals were either fired, suspended, or disciplined for celebrating his assassination, but since then, several have been reinstated, and some have been paid huge sums of money.<\/p>\n<p>A Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigations\/charlie-kirk-purge-how-600-americans-were-punished-pro-trump-crackdown-2025-11-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from November revealed that over 600 people were fired or punished for posting about Kirk\u2019s assassination, which occurred Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University during a TPUSA event.<\/p>\n<p>They included members of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID Orders\">law enforcement agencies<\/a>, nurses, teachers, professors, journalists, entertainers, military members, and more.<\/p>\n<p>The social media account \u201cLibs of TikTok\u201d led the charge, sharing screenshots of posts that either mocked or disparaged Kirk after he was violently shot in the neck.<\/p>\n<p>The most recognizable person to face any consequences was ABC\u2019s late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. He was initially taken off the air after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/jimmy-kimmel-blatantly-lies-audience-charlie-kirks-assassin-claiming-part-maga-gang\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">falsely telling<\/a> his audience that Kirk\u2019s assassin was a MAGA conservative. However, he was only hit with a brief suspension and soon returned to action.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the individuals who were punished have pushed back and were granted huge paydays because of it.<\/p>\n<p>In June, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/23\/nx-s1-5856300\/charlie-kirk-assassination-jobs-social-media-payouts-fired-first-amendment-settlements\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Public Radio<\/a> reported on Maria Ruhtenberg, who had been fired from her job last September, after one of Ruhtenberg\u2019s friends saw one of her posts about Kirk\u2019s death and complained to her employer.<\/p>\n<p>Ruhtenberg, who\u2019d spent 15 years as a public defender, wrote things like \u201clive by the sword, die by the sword\u201d and \u201cyou reap what you sow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She appealed her termination and got her job back. Not only that, but she sued the state and was awarded $125,000.<\/p>\n<p>Iowa high school teacher Melisa Crook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcrg.com\/2026\/04\/29\/central-iowa-school-teacher-fired-over-charlie-kirk-comment-reach-lawsuit-settlement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sued her district<\/a> after being fired over posts about Kirk, according to KCCI-TV.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is a terrible human being \u2026 terrible,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI do not wish death on anyone, but him not being here is a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>KCCI reported she was awarded $145,000 plus her salary and benefits for the 2025-26 school year, totaling over $82,000. The Creston Community School District was also ordered to distribute a statement pledging \u201crespect for the diverse opinions, beliefs, and affiliations that exist among our staff, students and families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two professors from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Rebel Cole and Karen Leader, were initially put on leave for posts made about Kirk, but were eventually reinstated, <a href=\"https:\/\/weartv.com\/news\/nation-world\/florida-charlie-kirk-social-media-posts-firings-free-speech-lawsuits-taxpayer-costs-fired-controversial-social-media-post-pay-day-waste-watch-i-team-florida-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to WEAR-TV.<\/p>\n<p>Darren Michael got his job back as a tenured professor at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, after being fired for posting a 2023 news story with the headline \u201cCharlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths \u2018Unfortunately\u2019 Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He got his job back and walked away with a $500,000 settlement, <a href=\"http:\/\/nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/07\/us\/austin-peay-professor-charlie-kirk-settlement-reinstated.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to The New York Times.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, The Tennessean <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/tennessean\/posts\/tennessee-has-paid-more-than-32-million-in-settlements-backpay-and-other-damages\/1495561259274044\/?_rdc=1&#038;_rdr#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> that Tennessee has paid out more than $3.2 million in settlements, back pay, and damages related to lawsuits about Charlie Kirk comments.<\/p>\n<p>CBS News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/atlanta\/news\/georgia-teacher-disciplined-over-charlie-kirk-posts-and-school-district-reach-settlement-in-federal-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noted<\/a> that in July, English teacher Michelle Mickens of Georgia \u2014 who was represented by the now-disgraced Southern Poverty Law Center \u2014 managed to reach an official federal lawsuit settlement after sharing a post that seemingly criticized Kirk for his stance on guns. However, the details of the settlement were not disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, The Associated Press reported that a writer for The Washington Post was ordered to be <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/washington-post-karen-attiah-black-media-fired-4a8baf98ba45959a2a8120e9981d0643\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reinstated<\/a> almost one year after being fired for comments related to Kirk\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n<p>Karen Attiah had posted on BlueSky that she was, \u201crefusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is \u2026 not the same as violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf anything, the rush to coddle violent white men is self-protective \u2014 that we know they are not used to feeling vulnerable and mortal \u2014 and will react violently out of fear. And we will all suffer,\u201d another post reportedly read.<\/p>\n<p>An arbitrator, Sarah Miller Espinosa, ordered that the newspaper grant Attiah full back pay and lost benefits.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After Charlie Kirk\u2019s death last year, many were fired, suspended, or disciplined for celebrating his assassination. Since then, some have been reinstated and received large payouts. A November Reuters report stated that over 600 individuals faced consequences for posts about Kirk\u2019s killing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2657903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Charlie-Kirk-with-Trump-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44291,32311,81115,63480,32220],"class_list":["post-2657902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-free-speech","tag-legal-settlements","tag-online-harassment","tag-social-media-backlash"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Charlie-Kirk-with-Trump-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2657902"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2657906,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657902\/revisions\/2657906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2657903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2657902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2657902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2657902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}