Soldiers mock Kirk's death online
The military is investigating soldiers who mocked conservative Charlie Kirk's death online. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that such behavior wouldn't be tolerated in a social media post on Thursday, echoing a similar post written by Sean Parnell, the Pentagon 's chief spokesperson. 'We are tracking all these very closely - and will address, immediately,' Hegseth wrote. 'Completely unacceptable.'
Parnell said it was intolerable for military personnel to 'celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American.' Later Wednesday, Task & Purpose reported that a Marine had been demoted and was under investigation for a message he shared on his Instagram story. 'Another racist man popped,' the Marine shared. His message included the 'cheers' emoji of two beers.
Capt. Austin Gallegos, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps' Western Recruiting Region told Task & Purpose that the Marine leadership was made aware of a 'social media post last night that does not align with our core values.' 'The Marines Corps takes this type of allegation seriously,' Gallegos said. 'The Marine in question has been relieved of his recruiting duties, and the matter is currently under investigation.' The Secretary of the Navy John Phelan said he was also aware of disrespectful social media posts.
'I am aware of posts displaying contempt toward a fellow American who was assassinated,' Phelan said. 'I want to be very clear: any uniformed or civilian employee of the Department of the Navy who acts in a manner that brings discredit upon the Department, the @USNavy or the @USMC will be dealt with swiftly and decisively.' The Marines operates under the Department of the Navy. A female soldier in the U.S. Army also came under fire for a Kirk-related social media post, forcing her to distance her comments from the Pentagon.
'Oh no. Whatever shall we do without his incessant misogyny, racism and hatefulness ...' she wrote. Her post and identity were then highlighted by conservatives online. 'I apologize that so many of you misconstrued my statement as a call to violence or as a representation of the DOD,' she later wrote. 'These views are not representative of the DOD. These views just what supply we are losing with the passing of the Conservative Charlie Kirk.'
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment on whether she was facing an investigation. The killing of Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, which had a mission to spread conservative ideology on college campuses, was a shocking development in a year that has already seen a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her family gunned down and another shot and wounded.
His assassination, which was widely disseminated on social media, has produced heated rhetoric online. It has also prompted a witch hunt, with prominent MAGA celebrities like Laura Loomer trying to get people fired who have posted anti-Kirk comments since his death was announced. 'I have become the official HR Karen. I've been speaking to the manager all day long. I feel good about it,' Loomer posted on Thursday.