Teachers in public schools confront controversy due to mocking posts about the potential assassination of Charlie Kirk on social media.
In the aftermath of the tragic death of prominent conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, several educators across the nation have found themselves under investigation for posting controversial comments online. Samantha Marengo, a special education teacher at King Elementary School in Framingham, Massachusetts, was filmed singing 'God Bless America' next to a TV newscast announcing Kirk's death and posted it on her Instagram, which has since been deleted. Framingham Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay promptly placed Marengo on leave pending an internal review. Similarly, Joanna Schveder, an intervention specialist at Canterbury Elementary in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, is under investigation by her school district after posting a comment wishing Kirk to suffer in eternity. In New York, Patrick Freivald, a physics teacher with the Naples Central School District, posted inflammatory comments about Kirk's death on Facebook. His post mocked Kirk's death and accused him of spreading lies and hate. Wynne Boliek, a social studies teacher at Southside High School in Greenville, South Carolina, was fired following an internal investigation after posting a controversial comment about Charlie Kirk's death. Christopher Condon, a technology education teacher in the Crawford Central school district in Pennsylvania, shared inflammatory posts after Kirk's death, one of which reportedly read, 'He made millions of dollars by spreading lies and hate that helped divide this nation. I have not one single F to give. Karma's a b---h, eh?' The Crawford Central School District placed Condon on administrative leave and did not condone or endorse the statements expressed in the post. The school districts in Maryland and Texas are reviewing cases of educators accused of celebrating Kirk's death online. In Texas, more than 100 teachers will have their teaching certifications suspended after investigators found they had called for or encouraged violence following Kirk's death. Superintendent Kevin Swartz placed a teacher on leave pending an investigation after the teacher posted inflammatory comments about Kirk's death on Facebook. Education officials in Florida and Oklahoma issued warnings to educators last week about controversial posts following Kirk's death. Matthew Kargol, an arts teacher at Oskaloosa High School in Iowa, wrote '1 Nazi down' after Kirk's murder and is on paid administrative leave, facing an emergency hearing on Sept. 17. These incidents have sparked concern about the role of free speech in education and the potential for 'cancel culture' to compound the tragedy of Kirk's death. The Free Speech organization FIRE raised this issue, stating that the educators' posts should be seen as a reflection of their personal opinions rather than a reflection on their professional abilities. Kristine Parks, a reporter for our website Digital, and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report. The identity of the suspect in Kirk's death, Tyler Robinson, was revealed last week. The investigation into his actions and the fallout from the educators' controversial posts continue to unfold.
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