Teachers facing backlash, termination for mocking Charlie Kirk’s murder
September 15, 2025
Social media posts mocking and celebrating last week’s assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, have led to the firing, suspension and public condemnation of a number of educators nationwide.
The Christian Post reports that while most Christian leaders and political figures on both sides of the aisle have set aside their differences to condemn Kirk’s murder, others have reacted less charitably.
Among those facing consequences for vile or celebratory social media posts are Middle Tennessee State University Associate Dean of Students, Laura Sosh-Lightsy.
Wednesday, Sosh-Lightsy posted on Facebook, “Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence,” adding that she had “ZERO sympathy” for his murder because “hate begets hate.”
Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney McPhee announced on Thursday that “an MTSU employee today offered inappropriate and callous comments on social media concerning the horrific and tragic murder of Charlie Kirk.”
McPhee added, “This employee has been fired effective immediately. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Kirk family.”
Another educator facing backlash is Patrick Freivald, a teacher at Naples Central School District in Naples, New York.
Freivald celebrated Kirk’s murder by proclaiming “Good riddance to bad garbage” also referred to Kirk as “the aspiring Goebbels,” a Nazi politician and minister of propaganda under Hitler.
Naples Central School District Superintendent Kevin Schwarz acknowledged Freivald’s posts, noting that “a formal investigation is underway” and stating that “the employee has been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Michael Rex, a professor at Cumberland University in Tennessee, also made a Facebook post where he implied that the fatal shooting of Kirk was justified and called Kirk a Nazi, writing, “Crying about a Nazi getting shot while staying silent about the school shooting in Colorado is peak Republican.”
On Friday, Cumberland University President Paul Stumb announced that Rex was “no longer employed by the university” due to his “inappropriate comments on the internet related to the tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk.”
Kirk was fatally shot at a campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Wednesday.
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