Three words were emblazoned across the front of the pop-up tent where Charlie Kirk was sitting when he was struck by a sniper’s bullet.
“PROVE ME WRONG,” they read, in what the right-wing activist had described as an invitation to a mutual exercise of free speech as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) says it is investigating 281 educators for posting or sharing “reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.” The Texas American Federation of Teachers (TAFT) described it as an “extreme case of government officials witch-hunting those who disagreed with Kirk’s politics.”
Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath launched the hunt with a Sept. 12 letter to the state’s 1,200 local school superintendents.
“In response to such posts, I’m referring all documentation of educators that have proliferated such vile content to the TEA’s Educator Investigations Division,” Morath announced. “Such posts could constitute a violation of the educators’ code of ethics, and each instance will be thoroughly reviewed to determine whether actionable conduct has occurred and staff will investigate accordingly.”
He added, “While the exercise of free speech is a fundamental right we are all blessed to share, it does not give carte blanche authority to celebrate or sow violence against those that share differing beliefs and perspectives.”
Morath upped the pressure in a statement on Monday, at what happened to be the start of Celebrate Freedom Week. That is an annual state-mandated observance centered around Sept. 17, the date in 1787 when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed our founding document.
Morath declared, “TEA’s Educator Investigations Division has already begun its review, and I will be recommending to the State Board for Educator Certification that such individuals have their certification suspended and be rendered ineligible to teach in a Texas public school.”
Texas is taking the lead among officials in other states, along with numerous employers nationwide, in targeting people who expressed continued offense at some of Kirk’s other words—in particular regarding people of color as well as trans folks. People from every walk of life, from firefighters to airline crew members to a U.S. Marine to a TV news pundit to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, have been either suspended or fired.
And, in what can be called a snitch hunt, TEA is soliciting even more complaints.
“If you are made aware of additional instances of inappropriate content being shared, it should be reported to the agency through TEA’s misconduct reporting portal,” Moarth advised in his Monday statement.
A TAFT spokesman said that such matters are usually handled by the individual school districts and a statewide snitch hunt is “pretty unprecedented.”
”I’ve been in education in Texas for almost 30 years, and. I’ve never seen a commissioner go out looking for people and soliciting complaints,” the union spokesman said. “That’s never happened.”
The spokesman noted that most of the cases involve teachers who suggested Kirk was a not-entirely-saintlike figure. At least one suggested that karma had played a role in Kirk’s demise.
“I may not like it, you may not like it,” the spokesman said. “I don’t think that’s inciting violence… And it certainly wasn’t happening in the classroom. For the most people, it was happening off-hours on their own devices, on their own account. Now, those that may have posted during the work day when they weren’t off on their break time or lunchtime, may have some questions to answer and find themselves in very hot water.”
The spokesman added that Morath wants the cases handled by a central certification board appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
“I don’t think that anybody who goes in front of that board right now is going to get a fair and impartial hearing based on the fact that it’s a vote of gubernatorial appointees on a tremendously hotbed issue,” the spokesman said.
At least one local board went ahead and fired a teacher just two days after Kirk was killed. The Klein Independent School District (ISD) had received an anonymous tip regarding Schindewolf Intermediate School football coach Derek Woods for his response to a Facebook post thanking Kirk “for all he has done.” Woods, who doubled as a social studies teacher, responded, “I don’t get why anyone is sad…Yes he is leaving behind 2 beautiful little girls and I pray for them. but that man was a horrible f—–g human being. He was a legit racist, homophobic, a misogynist, transphobic nasty person. Plus he said out of his d–n mouth ‘people should die in order for us to protect the second amendment.’”
The Klein ISD announced its summary ruling with a Sept. 12 press release.
“Effective immediately, this individual’s employment with Klein ISD has been terminated,” it read. “This conduct does not reflect the values, standards, or expectations of our school district and will never be tolerated.”
Last year, four Klein ISD teachers were arrested for alleged felonies including child molestation, sex trafficking, and possession of pornography.
Now, the school district says it’s upholding its standards by firing Woods for exercising his right to free speech on a personal social media account. He could not be reached for comment. The TEA did not respond to queries from the Daily Beast.