The chair of the Florida Republican Party is demanding Leon County School Board member Darryl Jones resign over a social media comment he made about conservative influencer and activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Sept. 10 while on his American Comeback tour at a Utah university. His murder has sparked outrage, sympathy, dismissive comments and for some, conflicted responses.
The social media postings of teachers, education officials and state employees about Kirk have been under heightened scrutiny after his death with a frenzy of firings and investigations across the state. That’s led to concerns about First Amendment rights.
“Being a school board member is a position of public trust and let me be completely clear, this kind of hateful rhetoric is what led to the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Florida GOP chair Evan Power told the Tallahassee Democrat on Sept. 23.
Leon County School Board Member Darryl Jones speaks at the naming event for the Ernest “Rock” Jones gymnasium on Friday, August 1, 2025
Jones’ comment came after a Sept. 11 letter to Florida’s K-12 public schools from Florida Department of Education Commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas, who said teachers could lose their certifications and be fired if they post “despicable comments” about Kirk.
“The problem is that the Commissioner of Education from his lofty position found it necessary to inform an entire profession that it should not comment on the murder of a racist, misogynist, homophobic Klansman in negative terms,” Jones commented under a post in a Facebook group.
In Leon County Schools, there have been no investigations or firings related to social media comments as of Sept. 23, according to a spokesperson.
Now the Florida GOP is calling on Democratic Party leaders to condemn Jones for the “vile rhetoric and (to) stand against those celebrating political violence.”
“Darryl Jones is supposed to be leading in education, but instead he’s stoking the flames of division and dishonoring the office he holds,” Power said in a Sept. 23 news release. “Mark our words: we will root out the low-life radical agitators who have embedded themselves in our education system.”
A screenshot of a comment made by School Board Member Darryl Jones about the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination was posted by the Florida GOP.
Jones represents District 3, which encompasses Tallahassee’s south side. All of the schools are Title I, meaning most of the children and families are from low-income homes.
“My recent comments, first shared in a Facebook forum, have since drawn attention from what matters most: our schools, our teachers and our students,” Jones said in a statement provided to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“My lifelong focus remains ensuring that Title I schools in Leon County, and the families they serve, receive the strongest advocacy possible.”
Leon County Republican Party Chair Evan Power watches as election results come in with a group of party members at Rootstock on Election Night Nov. 3, 2020.
Power said Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna and Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried should be the ones to hold Jones accountable, and more than an apology is needed to make things right.
“I think, beyond just an apology, Darryl needs to resign,” Power told the Tallahassee Democrat, adding that critics shouldn’t smear their opponents “because (they) don’t agree with their political beliefs.”
Jones and Power have not communicated with one another on this matter, each said. Hanna said he wouldn’t comment on something he hasn’t been paying attention to since he isn’t usually active on social media.
Leon County Democratic chair Ryan Ray said, in response to the post, that a rejection of political violence is needed now more than ever.
“We reject political violence of any kind and lament the commonplace gun violence in American life today. We all deserve better,” Ray told the Tallahassee Democrat Sept. 23.
“As someone who has been targeted by extremists amid online media attacks, I affirm my commitment to nonviolence and call on people of all parties to commit to productive civic discourse – today more than ever.”
He added, “we all share a responsibility to encourage healing, not stroke the flames of division.”
Since Jones is elected, the state Department of Education can’t discipline or remove him. Only the governor, with Senate approval, has that power.
But DeSantis has a track record of getting state senators to go along with him, including, for example, his suspensions of independently-elected Democratic officials such as state attorneys Andrew Warren of Tampa and Monique Worrell of Orlando.
“I abhor violence in all its forms and have always done so. Violence is never the answer especially in our schools. It is not words that kill – it is guns – and we must summon the will to address the laws that allow such tragedies to persist,” Jones said.
Alaijah Brown covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ABrown1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida GOP condemns Leon School Board member’s Charlie Kirk remarks
