Outraged Rhode Island high school students demanded their teacher be fired for calling Charlie Kirk a “piece of garbage” after the activist was assassinated, as frustrated parents threatened to pull their children from the school district.
Barrington High School students took the floor to express their disgust over social studies teacher Benjamin Fillo’s comments as families and staff converged at a school board meeting on Sept. 15.
“No matter what anyone says to me I will never stand for violence, especially of a man who was publicly murdered in front of his wife, one of his children and thousands of students and other bystanders,” Fillo’s student Jakari said. “Charlie was not a racist, he did not hurt anyone sexually and he did not kill anyone, therefore this was an unjustified cause of death and this should never be celebrated.
“Charlie did not deserve to lose his life because of a different opinion, but this teacher deserves to lose his job,” the young teen said.
Fillo was placed on paid leave as Barrington Public Schools hired an independent investigator to determine if the teacher broke school rules or laws with his comments, officials announced.
“I have about as much sympathy for Charlie Kirk right now as I do for all those farmers across the country who want socialist handouts from the government right now,” Fillo said in a video posted to TikTok.
“This is a man who hated the LGBTQ community, who hated women’s rights, who hated democracy,” the under-fire educator outrageously claimed on his now private social media channel.
“Who thought that he was a big man cause he went to college campuses, debated young college students and thought he proved how tough he was with his words that he studied ahead of time,” Fillo stammered as he walked around a house.
“What a piece of garbage,” he exclaimed. “This is what happens.
Fillo then suggested the “inevitable white man” assassin, later identified as suspected gunman Tyler Robinson, 22, should have his guns removed.
“Bye, Charlie,” Fillo emphatically cheered to conclude the video.
Two more of the teacher’s students stood up against Fillio, who has worked in the district for 15 years.
“As civilians and people of a great country, we hold ourselves to a higher standard than to support or worse yet to rejoice in violence,” high schooler Caleb said. “Someone who advocated for an arrested murderer and assassinator of one of the greatest debaters and free speakers of our time should have no place in the classroom.”
“As a student of Barrington High, I did not feel comfortable or safe with our teachers supporting violence. We believe this world needs God, because something as cruel as this should never be celebrated,” the third student, Brandon, added.
Parents and staff members clashed at the nearly two-hour-long meeting as divisions rippled through the room between supporters and opponents of Fillo.
One father in the school district threatened to pull his children out of the school if the embattled teacher was still being paid.
“The gentleman in question this evening, he can speak as freely as he likes, but he still has to face the consequences of promoting and celebrating, as I said, like a ghoul, the death of an innocent man,” the parent said.
“I will conclude with this. My children will not be entering the Barrington School system this year. They will be homeschooled by me. Where they will not be taught what this man (Fillo) clearly, if he wanted to be consistent, shouldn’t be teaching in his classroom, ‘that if you disagree with someone, they should be shot,’” he urged.
The outraged parent, who was a teacher in the school district until a few years ago, revealed he was fired because of comments he made online.
“I did not celebrate murder, because I am not a ghoul,” he said. “My job, apparently, was to keep my mouth shut when small children were being exposed to grown men’s genitals. I was fired within 24 hours.”
The outraged ex-teacher claimed he wasn’t given the same courtesy as Fillo was with a paid-leave absence, instead being handed his pink slip with no severance and told the “leave the premises immediately.”
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Fillo, the co-president of the local teachers’ union, was called to step down from his position in the National Education Association because of his leave of absence.
“As you know, our colleague and co-president made a statement on his personal TikTok account that has received widespread negative attention. We are deeply disappointed by his actions. Let me be clear: We unequivocally condemn violence in all its forms. Violence has no place in our schools, our district, or our society,” NEA Barrington co-President Nahum Mitnik said during the board meeting.
Several teachers defended Fillo’s comment, claiming his freedom of speech was protected by the First Amendment.
Barrington High School’s baseball coach, Geoff Turner, described Fillo as one of the most “dedicated and life-changing teachers.”
“For one online comment, in which he described a professional provocateur who championed intimidation for his personal profit, most of that post is entirely factual,” the paid coach said.
“Let us be clear, by putting a teacher on leave in this circumstance, that is a dangerous move,” Turner alleged. “First, it chills the speech of every faculty member in the school system. When a teacher can be punished for expressing a blunt opinion outside of school hours, every other teacher will think twice about expressing an opinion or speaking truth to power.”
Turner claimed Fillo required an apology from the school district and a full reinstatement to his teaching position.
Not all staff members agreed with Turner’s assessment, as others were shocked by the support Fillo received and wanted a more severe punishment for the teacher.
“Paid leave is a vacation,” Ann Strong told the board, calling for Fillo to be fired for celebrating Kirk’s death.
“Paid leave is not accountability. Our students deserve safety. Our parents deserve trust. Our community deserves. Educators who understand the difference between right and wrong is glorifying. The assassination of a public figure isn’t grounds for termination than what is,” another disgusted attendee said.