Image Credit: Charlie Kirk / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Though much media attention has been focused on the firings of staffers and teachers from educational institutions, other Tennessee government employees have been terminated or suspended over inappropriate remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Last Friday, the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) announced a female employee was terminated following social media comments about the murder of Kirk. The TDCI oversees areas such as insurance regulation, consumer protection, fire prevention, and professional licensing across the state.
While her identity and posts have not been made public, an official statement from TDCI Commissioner Carter Lawrence confirmed that the internal investigation revealed the employee linked herself to the department over social media and “revealed bias and disregard toward the very people she was tasked with serving.”
Lawrence’s statement also confirmed the termination was immediate as the employee had brought “the State into disrepute.”
“The Department of Commerce & Insurance is proud to serve all Tennesseans and will not tolerate employees’ discriminating animus against their fellow citizens,” the letter concludes.
Meanwhile in Nashville, two Metro departments have placed employees on administrative leave amid more social media posts mocking Kirk’s death.
Haley Kreidel, a 911 dispatcher for the Nashville Department of Emergency Communications (DEC), was placed on paid leave pending an investigation for a post showcasing a graphic illustration of Charlie’s fatal neck wound with the words “Debate This” underneath.
The department emphasized that while all personnel matters are handled according to Metro, departmental, and Civil Service rules, laws, and policies, they understand the gravity of the matter.
“We take this very seriously and remain focused on our no-fail mission to serve our community,” the department wrote. DEC also stressed it does not consider characteristics like political affiliations, race, gender, or religion when responding to emergency calls.
And a Nashville Fire Department (NFD) employee has also been placed on administrative leave after a screenshot of the employee’s post was reportedly shared by a former West Virginia state representative. The post depicted a red box with the caption, “Just got my limited edition Charlie Kirk Labubu.”
According to publicly available salary records, the name on the alleged post matches that of a paramedic employed with the department since January 2004, though the employee’s name has not been disclosed by NFD.
The department has stated that while the employee has been placed on leave per Civil Service Rules, they will not be providing any additional information regarding the matter while the “internal fact-finding process” is underway.
“It is important to emphasize that the personnel of Nashville Fire Department remain committed to our mission of delivering high-quality fire, medical, and rescue emergency response, as well as community support services,” read an official statement.
Calls for investigations and employment terminations continue throughout both Tennessee and the nation as conservatives and Christians work to expose those who celebrated the assassination.
Breitbart’s John Nolte encapsulates a potential impetus for this continued push to remove from the public square those who attempt to justify political violence, not for political revenge, but the preservation of the basis of liberty and civilization.
“The difference is that they are justifying, celebrating, and by extension, encouraging political violence,” he wrote. “When you celebrate a political assassination, you have crossed the free speech red line. Nothing in the First Amendment protects speech that encourages violence. Blacklisting people over opinions is immoral- that’s what Democrats do. Blacklisting people over allegations before they have had their day in court is immoral- that’s what Democrats do. But…
Blacklisting those who encourage violence…? That is righteous and necessary. All of these people need to be exposed, fired, and removed from civil society.”
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
9 Responses
Yes indeed, people are losing their jobs for saying anything derogatory about Charlie Kirk. I guess it’s just another example of “cancel culture,” and it’s going to get worse. GOP Rep. Randy Fine said this about Kirk critics: “I will demand their firing, defunding, and license revocation. If you don’t think I am serious, I got two State University Board Chairman fired for less. These monsters want a fight? Congratulations; they got one.”
A website established three days ago under the somewhat overstated banner of “Expose Charlie’s Murderers” claims to have already collected over 30,000 social media profiles. The team behind the site now promises to create “a searchable database… filterable by general location and job industry.” “This is a permanent and continuously-updating archive of Radical activists calling for violence,” the site adds. “This is the largest firing operation in history.”
Apparently the First Amendment now only applies to MAGA World.
“Apparently the First Amendment now only applies to MAGA World.”….. Your last words tell us all we need to know about your mind set. Meh…. The First Amendment isn’t a MAGA exclusive—it’s for everyone, even those crying foul or uninformed childish posts but… it can be a vehicle for facing the consequences of their own venom and/or even stupidity on the subject. Free speech doesn’t mean a free pass from accountability no matter what the political/religion persuasion one has.
I can imagine the repercussions: I write a “Letter to the Editor” to my local newspaper. In it, I criticize Donald Trump’s approach to environmental issues and the situation in Gaza. Later my boss calls me, saying the FBI told him that a letter I wrote to the newspaper contained “improper ideology,” and that they felt that it was an “incitement to violence.” I lose my job. Don’t think this can happen? You’d be surprised how many people think it SHOULD happen.
The very idea it “should” happen STARTED with Dems, progressives, left liberals, and the lunatic fringe that has defined the cancel culture. Speech that encourages or incites violence is not protected. If you threaten the life of any person it is a crime. And if you join in celebrating death and violence you are part of the problem. You cannot yell “fire” in a theater. This puts people’s lives in danger. The Dems have been CALLING FOR VIOLENCE IN PUBLIC. What did you expect? If you cannot understand the difference then it is prima facie you need to watch your speech.
And to what degree do I need to “watch my speech” in Trump’s America? Am I allowed to criticize the President? As for Charlie Kirk, when he was talking about the 2nd Amendment, HE SAID: “I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.” And today people have been fired from their jobs for drawing attention to that EXACT QUOTE.
It’s ACCOUNTABILITY, something you accursed dimmercraps can’t comprehend.
One thing people need to understand: In America our Constitution grants us the freedom to speak our mind BUT what people forget is that you also must be prepared to step up to the consequences of your words and/or actions. If you call you boss names you are free to do that but you must also be prepared for the consequences of those words. If your words cause damage to someone you can be sued for defamation. So again, you can say whatever you want but understand your words can have unfortunate consequences.
Lucifer’s accursed dimmercraps can’t comprehend accountability.
“Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free.” -Social media post by Charlie Kirk