The tragic murder of TPUSA co-founder and Salem Media radio host Charlie Kirk during an outdoor event on a university campus in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday has been the catalyst for what appears to be some much overdue housekeeping in companies and organizations--both big and small--across the country.
RedState's streiff wrote earlier on Saturday about the purge of extremists from among the U.S. military ranks in the wake of Kirk's killing, and we shared that both Office Depot and MSNBC parent company, Comcast NBCUniversal, parted ways with employees who refused to act in a civil way.
Read More: Office Depot Actually Does Right Thing After Employees' Rejection of Charlie Kirk Memorial Poster
Overnight on Friday, conservative and actor James Woods boosted an X post that displayed screenshots reportedly from an American Airlines pilot's Facebook page, in which a profane and disgusting comment about Kirk's assassination was written. The description of the X post, directed at the airline, read:
Warning: contains coarse language:
Steve Holmes, a pilot for @AmericanAir, says he is sorry Charlie Kirk got shot “in your fat f***ing face,” mocking his death as “the cost of our liberty.” Is this normal, American? Passengers will be concerned that yet another pilot of yours is so shameless, hateful and reckless.
American Airlines released a statement on Saturday in a reply to Woods' post:
American Airlines condemns violence of any kind. Furthermore, hate-related or hostile behavior runs contrary to our purpose, which is to care for people on life’s journey. Any such behavior is unacceptable, and we have already initiated action to address this with our team.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) September 13, 2025
It read:
"American Airlines condemns violence of any kind. Furthermore, hate-related or hostile behavior runs contrary to our purpose, which is to care for people on life’s journey. Any such behavior is unacceptable, and we have already initiated action to address this with our team."
Reacting to the airline's statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not mince words in a post on his X account: (emphasis added)
American Airlines pilots who were caught celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk have been immediately grounded and removed from service by @AmericanAir.
This behavior is disgusting and they should be fired.
Any company responsible for the safety of the traveling public cannot tolerate that behavior.
We heal as a country when we send the message that glorifying political violence is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!
He's exactly right. This is the only way forward for the country as a whole, if we're going to return to enjoying a civil society as the norm. As others have noted over the past 72-plus hours, there have been no riots or arsons in red cities across the U.S, after news of the voice of the gentle, but effective conservative communicator being silenced by that bullet. There have been prayer vigils and calls for peace. What we've seen on the other side, however, is abominable--something that's glaringly obvious to anyone willing to notice.
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