Greenville Co. fires 2 EMS workers, 1 from Sheriff’s Office for posts after Charlie Kirk’s death
By By Conor Hughes,File/staff
Copyright postandcourier
GREENVILLE — Three county public safety employees were fired for social media posts following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Greenville County Administrator Joe Kernell said during a Sept. 16 meeting that multiple employees had been terminated for violating county social media policy after the conservative podcaster was shot and killed Sept. 10 while engaging in a debate at Utah Valley University.
County Councilman Steve Shaw — who said he first brought the posts in question to Kernell’s attention — told The Post and Courier that two of the employees worked for EMS.
Lt. Ryan Flood, a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, said his agency also fired an employee Sept. 15 for social media posts he said violated regulations, but did not specify whether those posts were related to Kirk.
The three former Greenville County employees join a growing list of professors, teachers and other public workers across the country facing discipline for online comments about Kirk’s death amid mounting pressure from conservative officials and media personalities.
In South Carolina, educators and employees at Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University and the Greenville County public school district have lost their jobs in relation to online comments about Kirk’s death.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina has voiced opposition to the firings, arguing it is a violation of the First Amendment for public entities to terminate employees for political speech that did not affect their ability to do their job. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Alan Wilson issued legal guidance stating Clemson had the authority to fire the employees.
