Gov. Kim Reynolds said it is “unconscionable” that anyone would post messages celebrating an assassination, as several Iowa workers have been accused of in the wake of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s slaying.
Reynolds’ condemnation comes as an Oskaloosa teacher and an Iowa State University employee have been fired for incendiary social media posts about Kirk after he was fatally shot.
Speaking with reporters in a news conference at the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 24, Reynolds said the rules “already in place” are sufficient to discipline school or university employees who appeared to cheer Kirk’s death.
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the conservative group Turning Point USA, died after being shot during a question-and-answer session with students while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a press conference on education at the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Des Moines.
“First of all, I just want my thoughts and prayers — and I can say thoughts and prayers — go out to Erica Kirk, her children and the parents and sister of Charlie Kirk,” Reynolds said. “Anybody — anybody — that celebrates the execution of a human-being is disgusting and unconscionable, and it’s just not acceptable. Political violence should never be accepted, period. Period, end of story.”
Police arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in connection with the shooting and charged him with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and the commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. Robinson could face the death penalty.
Iowa State University worker fired for Charlie Kirk post
Iowa State University fired university financial aid adviser Caitlyn Spencer on Sept. 23, according to a termination letter, over her alleged post about Kirk that she was “happy he was rotting in hell now.”
In the termination letter, ISU President Wendy Wintersteen said Spencer violated the regents’ “freedom of expression” policy and said her “ethical obligations as a financial aid professional, as set forth in the Financial Aid Code of Conduct that you acknowledged when you accepted employment with the university.”
“Iowa State University has determined that your conduct and continued employment has caused, and is reasonably likely to continue to cause, significant disruption, harm, and adverse impact to the efficient and effective operations of the university,” Wintersteen wrote.
The Iowa Board of Regents decided on Sept. 17 that the state’s three public universities may investigate employees who may have violated policies “governing the use of social media” and put them on administrative leave.
Spencer’s social media post sparked controversy and ignited GOP state lawmakers’ calls urging the regents to immediately fire university employees who have publicly celebrated Kirk’s assassination.
Reynolds said she talked to regents President Sherry Bates and sent a letter to the board members.
“If we have discovered through the investigation that they did, in fact, celebrate taking another human life, you know, shutting down free speech, then they should be fired, and we’ll wait and see what happens, but they should be fired,” Reynolds said. “It has a chilling effect.”
In her Sept. 15 letter to the regents, Reynolds cited the board’s freedom of expression policy and said it “encourages peaceful, respectful and safe exercise of First Amendment rights.”
“The comments made on social media were neither peaceful, respectful nor safe,” Reynolds wrote. She said that while constitutional rights must be respected, ISU’s faculty and staff handbook recognizes that “public employees have a responsibility to avoid conduct that undermines public confidence or threatens a respectful workplace.”
“Public employees who make public comments condoning the murder of a person for expressing their political views should be terminated,” Reynolds wrote.
Another viral social media post landed former Oskaloosa High School teacher Matthew Kargol among a growing number of employees nationwide whose social media activity has resulted in their firing.
Kargol is suing Oskaloosa Community Schools and its superintendent, alleging a violation of his constitutional free speech rights after he was fired for comparing Kirk to a Nazi on social media.
He filed a lawsuit in federal court Sept. 18 — one day after the seven-member Oskaloosa school board unanimously voted to fire him — accusing the district of violating his First Amendment rights and firing him over protected speech.
Changes coming to state law on free speech?
Asked if she plans to pursue legislative action in 2026 on school employee discipline, Reynolds said measures are “already in place.”
“They have a school board, so they have what they need to act in regards to this,” Reynolds said of disciplining school employees. “Free speech is the cornerstone of our society, but there are consequences and repercussions to taking it too far. And I think, you know, not only is there an Iowa Supreme Court case that actually addresses this, but there’s also a U.S. Supreme Court case.
“They have, I think, what they need to take action, and I’m sure there will be lawsuits but you know, sometimes that’s OK too, because that gives us case law and it helps us better understand what those parameters look like.”
Some state lawmakers, though, have expressed interest in considering tweaks to state policies on the discipline of school employees.
State Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, who chairs the Iowa House Education Appropriations Committee, wrote in a post on X that “any school district that continues to employ individuals who endorsed the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt will face serious consequences.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a press conference on education at the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Des Moines.
Rep. Helena Hayes, a Republican from New Sharon who sits on the Iowa House Education Committee, previously told the Des Moines Register lawmakers may find that school policies and procedures sufficiently address issues but it’s an “open conversation.”
“Free speech matters, but so does protecting children from possibilities of violence being encouraged in them,” Hayes said. “… We never want to support violence. And so we need our educators to be able to walk our students down that path of, ‘Here’s how you work out your differences.'”
Ames Tribune reporter Celia Brocker contributed to this article.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Gov. Kim Reynolds derides posts celebrating Charlie Kirk’s slaying
