Popular opinion writer and editor Karen Attiah has been fired from The Washington Post after making a series of posts in response to Charlie Kirk's murder. Attiah, 39, said she was let go last week because of what were deemed "unacceptable social media posts" following the assassination of the conservative commentator in Utah.
One read: "Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence." In another post shared on the social media platform Bluesky, she wrote, "Refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is.... not the same as violence."
No Tolerance for Hatred
The journalist shared news of her firing in a detailed Substack post on Monday, which she titled "The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced." "The Post accused my measured Bluesky posts of being "unacceptable," "gross misconduct" and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues — charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false," Attiah wrote.
"They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the Post claims to uphold."
Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem. He was just 31 years old.
A 22-year-old Utah native, Tyler Robinson, has been arrested in connection with the killing and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
In her essay, the journalist said her firing was the result of "speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America's apathy toward guns."
"As a columnist, I used my voice to defend freedom and democracy, challenge power and reflect on culture and politics with honesty and conviction," Attiah wrote.
"Now, I am the one being silenced — for doing my job."
Giving Her Point of View
Attiah explained that after Kirk's murder, she took to social media to express "sadness and fear for America" and to criticize the nation's tolerance of political violence.
She pointed out that her most widely shared post on Bluesky after Kirk's death read: "For everyone saying political violence has no place in this country... Remember two Democratic legislators were shot in Minnesota just this year. And America shrugged and moved on."
In her Substack post, Attiah explained: "I pointed to the familiar pattern of America shrugging off gun deaths, and giving compassion for white men who commit and espouse political violence. This cycle has been documented for years. Nothing I said was new or false or disparaging—it is descriptive, and supported by data."
She said the only time she directly mentioned Kirk was when she reposted one of his quotes: "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person's slot."
"Washington D.C. no longer has a paper that reflects the people it serves," the columnist added.
"What happened to me is part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media — a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful — and tragic."
Attiah shot to fame as the editor who hired Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in Istanbul by the Saudi regime in 2018. She has also faced controversy before over her social media activity.
