The NBC Nightly News complains about the rash of firings of individuals celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk. A report full of misrepresentations and obfuscations attempts to turn these formerly-employed individuals into the newest, purest victims of the shooting.
Watch the report in its entirety as aired on the NBC Nightly News on Monday, September 15th, 2025:
TOM LLAMAS: Tonight we’re also hearing about the vice president’s efforts to crack down on liberals that they say are to blame for political violence. It comes as several employers have fired people for their comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Here’s Courtney Kube.
COURTNEY KUBE: The Trump administration's effort to find and punish Americans who criticized Charlie Kirk intensifying.
JD VANCE: So when you see someone celebrating Charlie's murder, call them out. And hell, call their employer.
KUBE: Some employers already firing or suspending people for their posts about Kirk. Impacting teachers, commercial pilots, doctors and even NFL staff. Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio floated revoking critics' visas.
MARCO RUBIO: We should not be giving visas to people who are going to come to the United States and do things like celebrate the murder, the execution, the assassination of a political figure.
KUBE: Two officials telling NBC News, Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed his staff to look for posts from servicemembers. Pentagon leaders quickly getting behind that policy. The Marines say they fired a recruiter for an alleged post about Kirk's death reading, “another racist man popped.” Experts say expect those firings to be challenged in court.
EUGENE FIDELL: Simply saying unpleasant things or unflattering things or things you just disagree with concerning a- another person who is not a public official, was never a public official. I think, cannot be punished by any part of the government.
KUBE: On social media, people who have criticized Kirk are being called out, their names and photos widely circulated. Some using the hashtag “revolutionaries in the ranks”. One post about an Army officer who allegedly shared direct quotes from Kirk has been viewed more than 7 million times.
They are not giving up their First Amendment rights when they swear an oath to serve in the military.
FIDELL: Absolutely not. They may apply somewhat differently, but the principle is one and the same.
KUBE: One of those differences: officers are not allowed to criticize the president or elected officials. Tom.
LLAMAS: All right. Courtney, we thank you.
