The Left plays by their own rules. Now everyone else is doing the same.
And Democrats are panicking after they just got a taste of their own medicine.
Ryan Fournier’s Campaign Against Kirk Assassination Celebrants
Conservative activist Ryan Fournier, with over 1.2 million followers on X, has spearheaded a campaign to expose individuals celebrating or downplaying the September 10, 2025, assassination of Charlie Kirk, resulting in at least 76 firings.
Fournier, National Chair of Students for Trump, told Fox News Digital he has received 51,000 tips and garnered 300 million views across his platforms.
His efforts target posts like that of Apple employee Cody Ikerd, who wrote, “Imagine having died such a horrible person that someone sharing your life’s work is considered ‘insensitive,’” and Old Navy employee Chance Williams, who commented, “Rest in p–ss, scum.”
Both were fired after Fournier publicized their remarks and shared employers’ contact information. Local businesses, such as Karma Scottsdale, which terminated instructor Jordyn Robinson for mocking Kirk’s death, and educational institutions, like an Arkansas school that fired an ELD interventionist for calling the assassination “divine justice,” have also been affected.
Fournier’s campaign, amplified by influencers like Libs of TikTok and Robby Starbuck, extends to public figures, with Palmetto Bay, Florida, council member Steve Cody facing resignation demands for posting, “Charlie Kirk is a fitting sacrifice to our Lords: Smith & Wesson. Hallowed be their names.”
Left’s Cancel Culture Turned Back on Itself
Fournier’s campaign reflects a reversal of the Left’s long-standing use of cancel culture, which has historically targeted conservatives for their views, now being wielded against those who celebrate Kirk’s assassination.
For years, left-leaning activists and media have orchestrated boycotts and firings against individuals expressing conservative opinions, often labeling them as hate speech to justify professional and social repercussions.
Fournier’s statement, “For years, the left tried to destroy people for simply having conservative values. They ruined careers, families, livelihoods. But now, we are fighting back,” captures this shift.
His campaign mirrors tactics once used to silence conservatives, such as publicizing posts and pressuring employers, but targets those who glorify political violence. The firings of employees like Ikerd and Williams, and calls for Cody’s resignation from GOP Rep. Carlos Gimenez and Florida state Rep. Omar Blanco, who said, “Hate speech and mocking violence have no home in Palmetto Bay,” demonstrate a demand for accountability that parallels past progressive campaigns against conservative figures.
This turnabout exposes the Left to the same social and professional consequences they have imposed.
Free Speech or Consequence Culture?
Fournier’s initiative has sparked debate over free speech, with critics on the Left arguing it stifles expression, while supporters, including Fournier, call it “consequence culture.”
He stated, “This is not cancel culture. This is not an attack on the First Amendment. You want to praise an assassination? Fine. But don’t cry when your boss, your school board, or your community finds out what kind of sick, soulless person you really are.”
The campaign’s success — 76 firings, including educators, a public official, and corporate employees — shows employers responding to public outrage over posts that glorify Kirk’s murder, such as those from a New Orleans firefighter who called the bullet “a gift from god” or a Texas coach who labeled Kirk “a horrible f***ing human being.”
While some, like Smith College professor Loretta Ross, compare the firings to McCarthy-era blacklisting, arguing they suppress free speech, the 1987 Supreme Court case Rankin v. McConnell suggests that public employees’ speech is protected unless it disrupts their duties.
Fournier’s efforts, backed by figures like Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who supported the firing of a Middle Tennessee State University employee for writing “ZERO sympathy,” reflect a broader conservative push to hold individuals accountable, using the Left’s own playbook to enforce consequences for rhetoric deemed unacceptable.
