CONWAY — Horry County Board of Education Chairman David Cox apologized Sept. 22 for comments he recently made on social media following the assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk.
In since-deleted Facebook comments, the Republican chairman wrote, “If the moderate Democrats do not reclaim their party, it’s only going to get worse…Lock and load.”
That language sparked a backlash from parents and community leaders who viewed the words as inappropriate and a call to violence. Before the Sept. 22 meeting began, Cox issued an apology.
“I’ve been working with children in Horry County Schools since 1997,” Cox said. “My focus has always been kids first.”
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Sept. 10 as he engaged in a debate during an outdoor speaking event at Utah Valley University. Authorities have since charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with Kirk’s murder.
In the aftermath, school officials across the country moved quickly to fire employees for social media posts that some viewed as celebrating the assassination. Clemson University fired two professors and a staff member. A Greenville teacher was also fired as was an employee at Coastal Carolina University.
While many of these firings stemmed from conservative opposition, Cox’s controversy was different: it was a Republican facing accusations of promoting violence in the wake of Kirk’s death.
“When a school board chairman uses violent language to discuss political disagreement, he forfeits the privilege of leading,” parent Chrissie Catlla said.
Catlla was among the speakers calling for Cox’s resignation during the public input portion of the school board meeting.
“When someone in charge of our children’s education uses phrases like ‘lock and load,’ it’s not just careless, it’s alarming,” parent Jaclyn Fignole told the board. “Words that create fear and division have no place in our schools.”
If a student were to make similar comments, Fignole said that child would face severe consequences.
“It’s a shame to hold my 6- and 11-year-old children to a standard that a chairman thinks that they’re above,” she told The Post and Courier.
Cedric Blain-Spain, the state executive committeeman for the Horry County Democratic Party, was also among those who spoke out against Cox.
An HCS graduate, Blain-Spain has worked in the school system for over 20 years as a classroom aide. He said the board has traditionally been held to a higher standard and years ago such a statement would have resulted in a resignation.
Blain-Spain also accused Cox of providing a half-apology.
Susan Hobgood, president of the Horry County Education Association, said she does not believe Cox’s statement was meant as a call for violence. However, she wants to see more accountability from him and the board.
“Students have been suspended for less,” Hobgood said.
Cox won the chairman’s seat in 2022. Before that, he served the western part of the county in District 9 for two terms before moving to District 4, which includes a swath of the Myrtle Beach area, in 2016.