Delta suspends employees for social posts related to Charlie Kirk’s killing
An unknown number of Delta Air Lines employees have been suspended because of social media posts about the Wednesday killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Delta joins a list of employers, including an NFL team and news network MSNBC, that have reportedly punished employees for allegedly posting inflammatory comments about Kirk’s death.
The Atlanta-based airline’s employees are under investigation because of content “related to the recent murder of activist Charlie Kirk” that “went well beyond healthy, respectful debate,” CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a companywide memo Friday.
“Violations of our social media policy can carry meaningful consequences, including termination,” he wrote.
“Remember that we represent Delta, at all times, in any forum. It’s essential that we act in ways that uphold our shared values and the human connection that defines us.”
An airline spokesperson declined to answer further questions about how many employees were suspended.
In a statement, the Air Line Pilots Association, Delta’s largest union, representing about 17,000 pilots, declined to answer a question about whether or not any of the affected employees were pilots.
The union does not comment on any “potential discipline issues involving individual pilots,” the statement read.
However, ALPA noted pilots are not “at will employees” and their contract “includes a grievance-arbitration process for pilots to challenge discipline and have an opportunity to present their side in front of a neutral arbitrator.”
Kirk was speaking outdoors Wednesday in front of thousands during an event at Utah Valley University held by Turning Point USA, the conservative group he founded. Kirk was shot during his appearance and later died. After a three-day search, Tyler Robinson, 22, of St. George, Utah, was arrested and later charged with murder in what authorities have called a political assassination.
More than 30 people across the country have been fired, put on leave, investigated or faced calls to resign because of social media posts about Kirk, according to an NPR analysis updated Saturday morning.
An anonymously registered website has been publishing a running list of posts about Kirk, pledging to “Expose Charlie’s Murderers” and asked people to offer tips about people who were “supporting political violence online,” The Associated Press reported.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue this week vowed to protect universities’ “civil debate” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, saying students must learn to “disagree without being disagreeable.”
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
