Sept. 16, 2025
Arrests, Firings and Suspensions Over Hateful Charlie Kirk Comments: Free Speech or Hate Speech?
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RSS Feed Amy and T.J. go over the growing list of people who have lost their jobs and positions over social media posts and public comments, including an especially disgusting display caught on video that landed one college student behind bars.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, September sixteenth, and people have been getting scolded, called out, suspended, fired, and now they are getting arrested and expelled from school for being critical of Charlie Kirk and in some cases mocking his death. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. Things are continue to ramp up. It doesn't feel like we have gotten to a moment we are calming down yet no in it.
00:00:32
Speaker 2: We feel more divided than ever this assassination. Charlie Kirk died mid last week and we're almost a week out from his death and we are still hearing about people being disciplined, people being arrested, as you pointed out, for mocking the mourning of Charlie Kirk. And look, his funeral, his very public funeral is set to happen this weekend. I can't imagine that this is also happening leading up to it, and what may even happen on that very day.
00:01:03
Speaker 1: Well, we need to be clear. People are being people are being disciplined and they deserve it because they're being dicks. There's some people being like it just assholes. Believably, you don't even believe another human being could behave in this manner, and I would argue ropes. This is what we're seeing with this now viral video. In this case out of Texas Lubbock in particular, a college student arrested and not in school anymore, eighteen year old freshmen because of what we all see on video roll. This is the ugliest incident I've seen. I've seen some people write about what they feel about them and things Charlie Kirk has said and express that they're not upset that he's dead. That's all awful as well. This one takes all cakes I've seen.
00:01:47
Speaker 2: Yes, because it's been hard to witness, even people putting it in writing and putting it out with their names attached, and seeing them disciplined, fired, et cetera. But this young lady goes specific to the people who were mourning, who were holding a vigil for Charlie Kirk on campus, other students and mocks them and almost does the Nana Nana boo boo and laughs at them for mourning a man who was murdered in front of the world.
00:02:18
Speaker 1: I don't have a defense for her. It's fine if you aren't mourning, but to do this to people who are hurt and who are offended. That was a particular meanness to what she was doing, and that was a particular immaturity. I will add that, but the word she was saying, and we're trying to describe as best we can I maany of you will probably seen the viral video, but there have been some developments today at least with incidents around the country and some comments from Pam Bondi that we're going to get into that are really getting people's attention with robes. In this particular case, this is a visual outside the student union at Texas Tech University and a young lady starts literally robes dancing and almost singing a tune while they are at a visual mourning the death of a man. That is just stop there.
00:03:09
Speaker 2: If you already are angry, and understandably so, about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I get that you are passionate. You were a lot of young people especially loved him and couldn't wait to see him and hear him, and they followed him and they agreed with him. So yes, they are angry. Then to have someone come up when you are trying to pay tribute to him, and start dancing. And this is what she said, and you can hear it on the video, so this isn't up for interpretation. She said, y'all, homie dead. He got shot in the head. Can you imagine just think about someone who you love or like or admire and you are honoring their death and someone comes and says that to you, right when you're already feeling emotion. I have to give credit to the other students who were being mocked. They did not retaliate with anything that brought brought it up further. They actually brought it down.
00:04:05
Speaker 1: I believe this could have been ugly. I mean, what if you had the wrong kid in the wrong moment, who's having the wrong day, in the wrong mood, decided to retaliate against this girl, that it could have gotten really really ugly. And to your point, what the And they had cameras on and kids are conscious of this stuff. Now we know everybody's watching. It didn't seem to stop this one young lady from saying what she was saying. But the kids who were there honoring Charlie Kirk calmly said, this is what evil looks like. He's just showing her doing her thing. Another kid at some point saying why are you being aggressive? They were at why are you doing this? I didn't hear at least rogues. Did you hear them raise their voices at any point?
00:04:40
Speaker 2: And she denied being aggressive, But you go back and look at the video and it was sorry, but that's just exactly what it was.
00:04:49
Speaker 1: That's not something else up for interpretation. And when they asked why she was being so aggressive, Look, they were not approaching her. They were doing their thing, and she was absolutely soliciting for she wanted some kind of response or reaction from them. She didn't get it and give them credit for whatever reason. But yeah, she's why are you calling me aggressive? Because I'm a black woman, and yes it is an eighteen year old black woman appears to be a black woman. Well, she said to herself when I think she's aid it, and not long after, and so this is how police got involved, and she has been arrested and she has been charged. She actually spent the night in jail over the weekend and I had to get out on two hundred dollars bond. Texas Tech will read their statement, but apparently she is not in school there anymore. Trying to get official word if she was kicked out or if she actually after her own I can't imagine that being the case, and the Texas Tech statement seems to clearly suggest she was booted out of school. Was it non Robes, Yes, and.
00:05:45
Speaker 2: One hundred percent that appears to be the case. Cameron Giselle Booker is her name.
00:05:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, her name is out there and has been identified at this point, but that's when she eighteen year old. And when I see eighteen years old, and it did when you see what she's doing to your point, ropes, Nana, Nana booboo, like it really nan, but you're talking about somebody being dead, it's yazarre. It's actually bizarre.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: And someone who had followers who passionately believed in him. So that really is inciting and really like it's it's poking the bear basically is what she was doing.
00:06:16
Speaker 1: And I want to be clear the arrest. Can you be arrested just for the speech? I don't know. She's been arrested for what they said was a misdemeanor simple assault because and this video was out there as well. They said in the police report, officer watched her, or witness her or hit the guy. In the head. I saw the video, looks like she's knocking his hat off his head, which she does. I'm not sure how much contact she made, but that.
00:06:37
Speaker 2: Was But when you physically touch someone or their hat on their head, that that could lead to something so much more than what happened, Thank goodness, because it's a disrespectful It's so disrespectful to hit someone's hat off their head. Ooh. If you're already upset and someone is is is verbally assaulting you basically, and then they do that to your hat, that takes a lot of restraints.
00:07:00
Speaker 1: It's like putting a finger in somebody's.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: Honestly, the only thing I can even think of is like my brother, he would just get and I would get, I would get, I would react. Let's just say that. You know, I'm not proud of it, but I was also a kid, but I understand that feeling like you're already upset and then someone just pushes you a little too far.
00:07:18
Speaker 1: But what are we supposed to do now? With the back and forth, and we talk about free speech and who's allowed to say what in one side says this side is more extreme than the other. We can say this, but y'all can't say that. So this is where Now what can you say? And I'm thinking about her? And this was extreme, it was it was mocking in it was taunting, and this was mean. There is nothing to be said to defend this young lady.
00:07:40
Speaker 2: And look, here is what Texas Tech said, because we do have the school statement, so this will be a good, I think moment to bring this into it. Texas Tech said this, any behavior that denigrates victims of violence is reprehensible, has no place on our campus, and is not aligned with our values. Federal law prevents Texas Tech University from commenting on individual student conduct matters. We take all reported violations seriously and address them under university policy and the law. And private businesses and a university, they do have the right in most instances to limit what you can say if you're a representative of that organization, whether it be a university or a business. I mean, it is a little gray in terms of what is free speech and what is punishable And do you have a right to say what you want to say and expect to still be employed or expect to still be part of an organization?
00:08:37
Speaker 1: Can a private company can do what they want to do. Can they not? Yes, private company doesn't. Yes, we worked at companies or whole lives. Right If I say in my off hours that my boss is an asshole, and then I come to work the next day and have to see said asshole in the morning meeting, does that asshole have the right to fire me?
00:08:59
Speaker 2: So, according to the legal experts, private employers have the law on their side when it comes to removing a worker who makes public statements that the business views as potentially harmful. Period. And that makes sense.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: So here's my question. Now, what crosses the line from hate speech to simply I shouldn't say simply hate speech, just deplorable speech, which I would ask Ropes anyone who says out loud I'm okay that he's dead. I find that absolutely disgusting.
00:09:37
Speaker 2: It's morally reprehensible, disgusting. Is it legally actionable?
00:09:42
Speaker 1: Is that hate speech that crosses a line into promoting violence? I don't know, but it sounds like the administration, damn sure is going to consider it.
00:09:56
Speaker 2: Hates spool, Yes, because Pambondy went on and tweeted this specifically referencing what we're discussing. Because this is now a larger conversation about what should people in this country be able to say and still expect that they won't lose their jobs, or they won't lose their positions, or they won't be fined, arrested, whatever, punished in some way. So Pambondi said, hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is not protected by the First Amendment. It is a crime. For far too long, we've watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is.
00:10:40
Speaker 1: Over, doesn't it seem like there's a like there is a concerted, a very concentrated, a very much massaged message that's coming from all of them. Right now. They're starting to call left leaners or ideologist terrorists. They have this theme that it's more so on the left and on the right. We just heard during the Cash Betel hearings one senator going off that's just called it bullshit.
00:11:07
Speaker 2: He was angry that.
00:11:09
Speaker 1: It's a thing on both sides. There is a theme now. I always say this, Republicans are excellent at messaging.
00:11:15
Speaker 2: Well, that's what we heard from jd Vance yesterday when he took over. When he took over the podcast for Charlie Kirk. He specifically referenced that it is not the same that the two sides do not share responsibility equally in the type of ideology or language that they say is threatening. In fact, Pambondi went on to say, you cannot call for someone's murder, You cannot swat a member of Congress. You cannot docks a conservative family and think it will be brushed off as free speech. These acts are punishable crimes, and every single threat will be met with the full force of the law. Free speech protects ideas, debate, even dissent, but it does not and will never protect violence.
00:12:03
Speaker 1: You cannot dox a conservative family. Can you dox a liberal family?
00:12:07
Speaker 2: It is weird that she said that. I do find that strange. I get their messaging, but that does seem bizarre.
00:12:13
Speaker 1: But that's the attorney general. If she represents me.
00:12:14
Speaker 2: As well, correct whether it's she represents people who are independent.
00:12:18
Speaker 1: So you cannot dox a family, period. Yes, she's to And this is where the messaging in this is getting a little alarming. She put this out today, and you remember yesterday the Vice President of the United States called He called for people to call out anybody who criticizes or takes issue with the death of Charlie Kirk, anybody who would dare have any glee. Look, nobody should be celebrating any but he called. He said, if anybody, he said, call them out and call their employer. He essentially sent everybody out on a mission to go after anybody who says anything that's seeming in their mind seems to not mourn Charlie Kirk. Like you can't even be on the fence. You just have to shut up, is the message that's clearly it seems coming out of there.
00:13:10
Speaker 2: And that's is it a stretch to feel like we're in the same.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: Zone.
00:13:18
Speaker 2: Is McCarthyism, Like you feel like there's some sort of and I don't want to say witch hunt, but it kind of is starting to feel like that, where there's some sort of if you're not with us, you're against us, and we'll find you and we'll single you out and you will face you will face serious repercussions if we find out who you are, and we'll let the world know what you said. It just feels it feels like the mark, like the red scare a little bit like we're instead of looking for communists, we're looking for radical left, but it's not that different. It doesn't feel that different right now.
00:13:52
Speaker 1: And folks, would you believe the other theme we are getting out of DC is that unity is not possible. Right now, stay here, we'll explain what they're talking about, all right, folks. Continuing now with what we just saw in Texas over the weekend, a student at Texas Tech arrested for really a what is the ugliest response to Charlie Kirk's death that I have actually seen her dancing, mocking, taunting that students were trying to have a vigilant more than Charlie Kirk on the campus. She's been arrested for a simple a simple assault, but wrote she's been arrested, and she is facing charges, and this video is viral and she's out of school, it appears, but she is one. I mean, at this point, it's growing every single day, and there are so many people. There's so many we don't know about. But these are some agencies are keeping up with counts. But we're getting in the thirties and forties.
00:15:07
Speaker 2: Plus dozens and dozens.
00:15:09
Speaker 1: Documented cases of people losing jobs or being suspended for things they've said.
00:15:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's wild. Some names you know, some names you don't. Some are a lot of There have been several local reporters basically who've also been disciplined or fired. Gerald Borgah from Phoenix Sports he put something on social media. He was fired. Matthew Dowd. We reported from MSNBC what is this from? Yeah? He so, Gerald, this is just an idea of this. He's a sports reporter from a sports an online sports newsite focused in Arizona. He wrote, Refusing to mourn a life devoted to that cause is not the same thing as celebrating gun violence. Truly, don't care if you think it's insensitive or poor timing to decline to respect an evil man who died.
00:15:55
Speaker 1: Why do you have to write it?
00:15:57
Speaker 2: Exactly?
00:15:57
Speaker 1: Keep it to yourself? If you have that. I had a question for you, though, Robes. It's one thing I would say to everybody, why, even if you feel that in your heart, why do you have to put that out publicly? The second thing is, why do you feel that in your heart? If you take issue with things you said? Have that? I just don't know how I can hear about a death, somebody being murdered and go.
00:16:20
Speaker 2: Cool that sounds about right karma. Right, that's what it sounds like. Most people are saying. A Washington Post columnist didn't. I hadn't heard about this, Karen Atia. She said in a substack post. This was just yesterday. She put this out there. She said that she was fired because she spoke out. She claims against political violence, racial double standards, and America's apathy towards Gunn, noting she only referred to Kirk once in a social media post, but once is enough.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, apparently it was. You had several more. A couple of universities, Austin p a professor there, one at Cumberland University, and then Middle Tennessee State had an assistant dean, all of them fired over comments they made about Charlie Kirks.
00:17:03
Speaker 2: And office depot fired an employee because it showed there's a viral video showing staff refusing to print posters for Kirk vigil. In Nasdaq, they fired an employee over a social media post. Carolina Panthers. We told you about this one, I believe last week. Yeah, his name was Charlie Rock. He made a social media post that got him fired. I didn't know about this. United Airlines says they took action on employees who publicly commented on Kirk's death. And then we heard from the United States Secretary of the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. He was getting in on this because United American Airlines and Delta all suspended people, and in particular, there was a pilot from American Airlines. Listen to this since deleted post. This is this is this is a scary one. I mean I have chills. Well, hey, Charlie, sorry you got shot in your fat fing forehead. It was just the cost of our liberty, thoughts and prayers that a pilot flying for American Airlines. So they've suspended all of these employees, and Duffy is calling for them to be fired because he just said, for doing what's right by placing pilots celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we need to put them out of service. They must be fired. So he's gotten involved just because it's the airline industry. But I was surprised that all of the three major airlines had employees who have been disciplined or suspended and potentially fired. And Idaho's school teacher was fired because she made a video celebrating Kirk's death. This is a high school teacher who's doing this, and a US Secret Service agent placed on suspension because he expressed negative opinions about Kirk.
00:18:48
Speaker 1: So that's wild, Like as human beings for the debate, are we so caught up in debate and politics and policy and this crap on social media and back and forth, and how much we go that someone died and we are so desensitized and our feelings about political issues come before just humanity and decency of the death of a human being.
00:19:15
Speaker 2: Babe, he didn't just die. He got executed in front of the world, not just the three thousand students and people who had gathered all shooting their cell phones, but by all of us around the world who inadvertently watched some of those cell phone videos because we didn't realize that we were actually going to see what we saw. So it was the most one of the most disturbing deaths, and I would say the most disturbing death for a lot of people that any of us have ever witnessed. And so that's what I think makes it even more despicable. I'm not saying it would be better if he had died of natural causes or something privately or in some sort of accident, but the way he was killed and the way he was murdered and how he was murdered, if you can can't feel something, some empathy, some I guess it would be sympathy, some sort of human feeling for another human being taken out like that. That's what scares me that there is so much apparently hatred that's in so many people that the second they get the opportunity to celebrate some sort of victory they have that meant a death of someone. I don't know. I just it makes me feel sick that so many people feel this way.
00:20:31
Speaker 1: But you know what I'm thinking, I'm sitting here thinking that somebody's listening to you or will listen and go yeah, but he said da da da da da, Like you're actually justifying to yourself why you feel that way. And I'm not calling anybody a bad person who is not in tears mourning, oh, of course, not death, but to celebrate his death to actually, even if you haven't put out a post, ask your scalps yourself, what was your reaction to his death? It's just anything bordering on joy, bordering on being pleased, even bordering on being Okay, we can't do that.
00:21:13
Speaker 2: I want to believe, babe, that these are the extreme. This is the extreme, And some people might laugh at me, but I obviously we have friends on all sides of the political as the spectrum, I should say, because it's not just an isle, it's a spectrum.
00:21:28
Speaker 1: Very close friends, and we argue with all of them over all kinds of stuff.
00:21:31
Speaker 2: I don't know anyone personally. I mean, at least no one's expressed this to me that have said anything other than this is a horrible, disgusting tragedy. And I am friends with the very the left the most. It not extreme, but just do are very solidly in the liberal camp and all the way to the opposite, very solidly in the conservative camp. And I have to say, of all the people I've talked to, no one, no one, no one has expressed what we're seeing. So I want to chew to believe that these might be the exceptions. These are the ones who and like, it's one thing, like you said, to think it and to maybe even feel it privately, but to then put it to words, to then put it out in the world, to then express and feel good about expressing it, feeling some sort of cathartic release in that joy or celebration that or even the nana nana boo boo of it. See you got what you got what was coming, and that I want to believe that's a minority, not a majority. But this is all scary because then the reaction to all of that is equally frightening.
00:22:37
Speaker 1: Because we keep hearing words about fighting fire with fire and you gotta go punch them before they I've heard heard so much of this rhetoric, but this was exhausting. That video was disgusting. And we still have several days before his memorial, and good God, I hope we get better. It's felt like he's gotten worse robes, but we wanted to hop on and up day two. We're keeping an eye on so many things today, robes and the shooters actually in court, his first court appearance. After that happens, we'll likely hop back on and give you old An updates. So as always, you can see the button there on the top right corner of the screen says follow on your Apple podcast out there on our show page and you can always get our updates coming right to and you don't have to go looking for them. But for right now, folks, take care of yourself, take care of some be kind to somebody you disagree with today. Yeah, reach out to like body that pissed you off recently. Just give it a shot at reconciliation, ropes, because this is tough and we are going the wrong direction.
00:23:32
Speaker 2: We certainly are well. We hope, we hope we can all learn from this and see what's happening and just do better. So thank you for listening to us. I'm Amy Roboch alongside t. J. Holmes. We will talk to you very soon.
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Tuesday, September sixteenth, and people have been getting scolded, called out, suspended, fired, and now they are getting arrested and expelled from school for being critical of Charlie Kirk and in some cases mocking his death. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. Things are continue to ramp up. It doesn't feel like we have gotten to a moment we are calming down yet no in it.
00:00:32
Speaker 2: We feel more divided than ever this assassination. Charlie Kirk died mid last week and we're almost a week out from his death and we are still hearing about people being disciplined, people being arrested, as you pointed out, for mocking the mourning of Charlie Kirk. And look, his funeral, his very public funeral is set to happen this weekend. I can't imagine that this is also happening leading up to it, and what may even happen on that very day.
00:01:03
Speaker 1: Well, we need to be clear. People are being people are being disciplined and they deserve it because they're being dicks. There's some people being like it just assholes. Believably, you don't even believe another human being could behave in this manner, and I would argue ropes. This is what we're seeing with this now viral video. In this case out of Texas Lubbock in particular, a college student arrested and not in school anymore, eighteen year old freshmen because of what we all see on video roll. This is the ugliest incident I've seen. I've seen some people write about what they feel about them and things Charlie Kirk has said and express that they're not upset that he's dead. That's all awful as well. This one takes all cakes I've seen.
00:01:47
Speaker 2: Yes, because it's been hard to witness, even people putting it in writing and putting it out with their names attached, and seeing them disciplined, fired, et cetera. But this young lady goes specific to the people who were mourning, who were holding a vigil for Charlie Kirk on campus, other students and mocks them and almost does the Nana Nana boo boo and laughs at them for mourning a man who was murdered in front of the world.
00:02:18
Speaker 1: I don't have a defense for her. It's fine if you aren't mourning, but to do this to people who are hurt and who are offended. That was a particular meanness to what she was doing, and that was a particular immaturity. I will add that, but the word she was saying, and we're trying to describe as best we can I maany of you will probably seen the viral video, but there have been some developments today at least with incidents around the country and some comments from Pam Bondi that we're going to get into that are really getting people's attention with robes. In this particular case, this is a visual outside the student union at Texas Tech University and a young lady starts literally robes dancing and almost singing a tune while they are at a visual mourning the death of a man. That is just stop there.
00:03:09
Speaker 2: If you already are angry, and understandably so, about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I get that you are passionate. You were a lot of young people especially loved him and couldn't wait to see him and hear him, and they followed him and they agreed with him. So yes, they are angry. Then to have someone come up when you are trying to pay tribute to him, and start dancing. And this is what she said, and you can hear it on the video, so this isn't up for interpretation. She said, y'all, homie dead. He got shot in the head. Can you imagine just think about someone who you love or like or admire and you are honoring their death and someone comes and says that to you, right when you're already feeling emotion. I have to give credit to the other students who were being mocked. They did not retaliate with anything that brought brought it up further. They actually brought it down.
00:04:05
Speaker 1: I believe this could have been ugly. I mean, what if you had the wrong kid in the wrong moment, who's having the wrong day, in the wrong mood, decided to retaliate against this girl, that it could have gotten really really ugly. And to your point, what the And they had cameras on and kids are conscious of this stuff. Now we know everybody's watching. It didn't seem to stop this one young lady from saying what she was saying. But the kids who were there honoring Charlie Kirk calmly said, this is what evil looks like. He's just showing her doing her thing. Another kid at some point saying why are you being aggressive? They were at why are you doing this? I didn't hear at least rogues. Did you hear them raise their voices at any point?
00:04:40
Speaker 2: And she denied being aggressive, But you go back and look at the video and it was sorry, but that's just exactly what it was.
00:04:49
Speaker 1: That's not something else up for interpretation. And when they asked why she was being so aggressive, Look, they were not approaching her. They were doing their thing, and she was absolutely soliciting for she wanted some kind of response or reaction from them. She didn't get it and give them credit for whatever reason. But yeah, she's why are you calling me aggressive? Because I'm a black woman, and yes it is an eighteen year old black woman appears to be a black woman. Well, she said to herself when I think she's aid it, and not long after, and so this is how police got involved, and she has been arrested and she has been charged. She actually spent the night in jail over the weekend and I had to get out on two hundred dollars bond. Texas Tech will read their statement, but apparently she is not in school there anymore. Trying to get official word if she was kicked out or if she actually after her own I can't imagine that being the case, and the Texas Tech statement seems to clearly suggest she was booted out of school. Was it non Robes, Yes, and.
00:05:45
Speaker 2: One hundred percent that appears to be the case. Cameron Giselle Booker is her name.
00:05:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, her name is out there and has been identified at this point, but that's when she eighteen year old. And when I see eighteen years old, and it did when you see what she's doing to your point, ropes, Nana, Nana booboo, like it really nan, but you're talking about somebody being dead, it's yazarre. It's actually bizarre.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: And someone who had followers who passionately believed in him. So that really is inciting and really like it's it's poking the bear basically is what she was doing.
00:06:16
Speaker 1: And I want to be clear the arrest. Can you be arrested just for the speech? I don't know. She's been arrested for what they said was a misdemeanor simple assault because and this video was out there as well. They said in the police report, officer watched her, or witness her or hit the guy. In the head. I saw the video, looks like she's knocking his hat off his head, which she does. I'm not sure how much contact she made, but that.
00:06:37
Speaker 2: Was But when you physically touch someone or their hat on their head, that that could lead to something so much more than what happened, Thank goodness, because it's a disrespectful It's so disrespectful to hit someone's hat off their head. Ooh. If you're already upset and someone is is is verbally assaulting you basically, and then they do that to your hat, that takes a lot of restraints.
00:07:00
Speaker 1: It's like putting a finger in somebody's.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: Honestly, the only thing I can even think of is like my brother, he would just get and I would get, I would get, I would react. Let's just say that. You know, I'm not proud of it, but I was also a kid, but I understand that feeling like you're already upset and then someone just pushes you a little too far.
00:07:18
Speaker 1: But what are we supposed to do now? With the back and forth, and we talk about free speech and who's allowed to say what in one side says this side is more extreme than the other. We can say this, but y'all can't say that. So this is where Now what can you say? And I'm thinking about her? And this was extreme, it was it was mocking in it was taunting, and this was mean. There is nothing to be said to defend this young lady.
00:07:40
Speaker 2: And look, here is what Texas Tech said, because we do have the school statement, so this will be a good, I think moment to bring this into it. Texas Tech said this, any behavior that denigrates victims of violence is reprehensible, has no place on our campus, and is not aligned with our values. Federal law prevents Texas Tech University from commenting on individual student conduct matters. We take all reported violations seriously and address them under university policy and the law. And private businesses and a university, they do have the right in most instances to limit what you can say if you're a representative of that organization, whether it be a university or a business. I mean, it is a little gray in terms of what is free speech and what is punishable And do you have a right to say what you want to say and expect to still be employed or expect to still be part of an organization?
00:08:37
Speaker 1: Can a private company can do what they want to do. Can they not? Yes, private company doesn't. Yes, we worked at companies or whole lives. Right If I say in my off hours that my boss is an asshole, and then I come to work the next day and have to see said asshole in the morning meeting, does that asshole have the right to fire me?
00:08:59
Speaker 2: So, according to the legal experts, private employers have the law on their side when it comes to removing a worker who makes public statements that the business views as potentially harmful. Period. And that makes sense.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: So here's my question. Now, what crosses the line from hate speech to simply I shouldn't say simply hate speech, just deplorable speech, which I would ask Ropes anyone who says out loud I'm okay that he's dead. I find that absolutely disgusting.
00:09:37
Speaker 2: It's morally reprehensible, disgusting. Is it legally actionable?
00:09:42
Speaker 1: Is that hate speech that crosses a line into promoting violence? I don't know, but it sounds like the administration, damn sure is going to consider it.
00:09:56
Speaker 2: Hates spool, Yes, because Pambondy went on and tweeted this specifically referencing what we're discussing. Because this is now a larger conversation about what should people in this country be able to say and still expect that they won't lose their jobs, or they won't lose their positions, or they won't be fined, arrested, whatever, punished in some way. So Pambondi said, hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is not protected by the First Amendment. It is a crime. For far too long, we've watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is.
00:10:40
Speaker 1: Over, doesn't it seem like there's a like there is a concerted, a very concentrated, a very much massaged message that's coming from all of them. Right now. They're starting to call left leaners or ideologist terrorists. They have this theme that it's more so on the left and on the right. We just heard during the Cash Betel hearings one senator going off that's just called it bullshit.
00:11:07
Speaker 2: He was angry that.
00:11:09
Speaker 1: It's a thing on both sides. There is a theme now. I always say this, Republicans are excellent at messaging.
00:11:15
Speaker 2: Well, that's what we heard from jd Vance yesterday when he took over. When he took over the podcast for Charlie Kirk. He specifically referenced that it is not the same that the two sides do not share responsibility equally in the type of ideology or language that they say is threatening. In fact, Pambondi went on to say, you cannot call for someone's murder, You cannot swat a member of Congress. You cannot docks a conservative family and think it will be brushed off as free speech. These acts are punishable crimes, and every single threat will be met with the full force of the law. Free speech protects ideas, debate, even dissent, but it does not and will never protect violence.
00:12:03
Speaker 1: You cannot dox a conservative family. Can you dox a liberal family?
00:12:07
Speaker 2: It is weird that she said that. I do find that strange. I get their messaging, but that does seem bizarre.
00:12:13
Speaker 1: But that's the attorney general. If she represents me.
00:12:14
Speaker 2: As well, correct whether it's she represents people who are independent.
00:12:18
Speaker 1: So you cannot dox a family, period. Yes, she's to And this is where the messaging in this is getting a little alarming. She put this out today, and you remember yesterday the Vice President of the United States called He called for people to call out anybody who criticizes or takes issue with the death of Charlie Kirk, anybody who would dare have any glee. Look, nobody should be celebrating any but he called. He said, if anybody, he said, call them out and call their employer. He essentially sent everybody out on a mission to go after anybody who says anything that's seeming in their mind seems to not mourn Charlie Kirk. Like you can't even be on the fence. You just have to shut up, is the message that's clearly it seems coming out of there.
00:13:10
Speaker 2: And that's is it a stretch to feel like we're in the same.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: Zone.
00:13:18
Speaker 2: Is McCarthyism, Like you feel like there's some sort of and I don't want to say witch hunt, but it kind of is starting to feel like that, where there's some sort of if you're not with us, you're against us, and we'll find you and we'll single you out and you will face you will face serious repercussions if we find out who you are, and we'll let the world know what you said. It just feels it feels like the mark, like the red scare a little bit like we're instead of looking for communists, we're looking for radical left, but it's not that different. It doesn't feel that different right now.
00:13:52
Speaker 1: And folks, would you believe the other theme we are getting out of DC is that unity is not possible. Right now, stay here, we'll explain what they're talking about, all right, folks. Continuing now with what we just saw in Texas over the weekend, a student at Texas Tech arrested for really a what is the ugliest response to Charlie Kirk's death that I have actually seen her dancing, mocking, taunting that students were trying to have a vigilant more than Charlie Kirk on the campus. She's been arrested for a simple a simple assault, but wrote she's been arrested, and she is facing charges, and this video is viral and she's out of school, it appears, but she is one. I mean, at this point, it's growing every single day, and there are so many people. There's so many we don't know about. But these are some agencies are keeping up with counts. But we're getting in the thirties and forties.
00:15:07
Speaker 2: Plus dozens and dozens.
00:15:09
Speaker 1: Documented cases of people losing jobs or being suspended for things they've said.
00:15:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's wild. Some names you know, some names you don't. Some are a lot of There have been several local reporters basically who've also been disciplined or fired. Gerald Borgah from Phoenix Sports he put something on social media. He was fired. Matthew Dowd. We reported from MSNBC what is this from? Yeah? He so, Gerald, this is just an idea of this. He's a sports reporter from a sports an online sports newsite focused in Arizona. He wrote, Refusing to mourn a life devoted to that cause is not the same thing as celebrating gun violence. Truly, don't care if you think it's insensitive or poor timing to decline to respect an evil man who died.
00:15:55
Speaker 1: Why do you have to write it?
00:15:57
Speaker 2: Exactly?
00:15:57
Speaker 1: Keep it to yourself? If you have that. I had a question for you, though, Robes. It's one thing I would say to everybody, why, even if you feel that in your heart, why do you have to put that out publicly? The second thing is, why do you feel that in your heart? If you take issue with things you said? Have that? I just don't know how I can hear about a death, somebody being murdered and go.
00:16:20
Speaker 2: Cool that sounds about right karma. Right, that's what it sounds like. Most people are saying. A Washington Post columnist didn't. I hadn't heard about this, Karen Atia. She said in a substack post. This was just yesterday. She put this out there. She said that she was fired because she spoke out. She claims against political violence, racial double standards, and America's apathy towards Gunn, noting she only referred to Kirk once in a social media post, but once is enough.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, apparently it was. You had several more. A couple of universities, Austin p a professor there, one at Cumberland University, and then Middle Tennessee State had an assistant dean, all of them fired over comments they made about Charlie Kirks.
00:17:03
Speaker 2: And office depot fired an employee because it showed there's a viral video showing staff refusing to print posters for Kirk vigil. In Nasdaq, they fired an employee over a social media post. Carolina Panthers. We told you about this one, I believe last week. Yeah, his name was Charlie Rock. He made a social media post that got him fired. I didn't know about this. United Airlines says they took action on employees who publicly commented on Kirk's death. And then we heard from the United States Secretary of the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. He was getting in on this because United American Airlines and Delta all suspended people, and in particular, there was a pilot from American Airlines. Listen to this since deleted post. This is this is this is a scary one. I mean I have chills. Well, hey, Charlie, sorry you got shot in your fat fing forehead. It was just the cost of our liberty, thoughts and prayers that a pilot flying for American Airlines. So they've suspended all of these employees, and Duffy is calling for them to be fired because he just said, for doing what's right by placing pilots celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we need to put them out of service. They must be fired. So he's gotten involved just because it's the airline industry. But I was surprised that all of the three major airlines had employees who have been disciplined or suspended and potentially fired. And Idaho's school teacher was fired because she made a video celebrating Kirk's death. This is a high school teacher who's doing this, and a US Secret Service agent placed on suspension because he expressed negative opinions about Kirk.
00:18:48
Speaker 1: So that's wild, Like as human beings for the debate, are we so caught up in debate and politics and policy and this crap on social media and back and forth, and how much we go that someone died and we are so desensitized and our feelings about political issues come before just humanity and decency of the death of a human being.
00:19:15
Speaker 2: Babe, he didn't just die. He got executed in front of the world, not just the three thousand students and people who had gathered all shooting their cell phones, but by all of us around the world who inadvertently watched some of those cell phone videos because we didn't realize that we were actually going to see what we saw. So it was the most one of the most disturbing deaths, and I would say the most disturbing death for a lot of people that any of us have ever witnessed. And so that's what I think makes it even more despicable. I'm not saying it would be better if he had died of natural causes or something privately or in some sort of accident, but the way he was killed and the way he was murdered and how he was murdered, if you can can't feel something, some empathy, some I guess it would be sympathy, some sort of human feeling for another human being taken out like that. That's what scares me that there is so much apparently hatred that's in so many people that the second they get the opportunity to celebrate some sort of victory they have that meant a death of someone. I don't know. I just it makes me feel sick that so many people feel this way.
00:20:31
Speaker 1: But you know what I'm thinking, I'm sitting here thinking that somebody's listening to you or will listen and go yeah, but he said da da da da da, Like you're actually justifying to yourself why you feel that way. And I'm not calling anybody a bad person who is not in tears mourning, oh, of course, not death, but to celebrate his death to actually, even if you haven't put out a post, ask your scalps yourself, what was your reaction to his death? It's just anything bordering on joy, bordering on being pleased, even bordering on being Okay, we can't do that.
00:21:13
Speaker 2: I want to believe, babe, that these are the extreme. This is the extreme, And some people might laugh at me, but I obviously we have friends on all sides of the political as the spectrum, I should say, because it's not just an isle, it's a spectrum.
00:21:28
Speaker 1: Very close friends, and we argue with all of them over all kinds of stuff.
00:21:31
Speaker 2: I don't know anyone personally. I mean, at least no one's expressed this to me that have said anything other than this is a horrible, disgusting tragedy. And I am friends with the very the left the most. It not extreme, but just do are very solidly in the liberal camp and all the way to the opposite, very solidly in the conservative camp. And I have to say, of all the people I've talked to, no one, no one, no one has expressed what we're seeing. So I want to chew to believe that these might be the exceptions. These are the ones who and like, it's one thing, like you said, to think it and to maybe even feel it privately, but to then put it to words, to then put it out in the world, to then express and feel good about expressing it, feeling some sort of cathartic release in that joy or celebration that or even the nana nana boo boo of it. See you got what you got what was coming, and that I want to believe that's a minority, not a majority. But this is all scary because then the reaction to all of that is equally frightening.
00:22:37
Speaker 1: Because we keep hearing words about fighting fire with fire and you gotta go punch them before they I've heard heard so much of this rhetoric, but this was exhausting. That video was disgusting. And we still have several days before his memorial, and good God, I hope we get better. It's felt like he's gotten worse robes, but we wanted to hop on and up day two. We're keeping an eye on so many things today, robes and the shooters actually in court, his first court appearance. After that happens, we'll likely hop back on and give you old An updates. So as always, you can see the button there on the top right corner of the screen says follow on your Apple podcast out there on our show page and you can always get our updates coming right to and you don't have to go looking for them. But for right now, folks, take care of yourself, take care of some be kind to somebody you disagree with today. Yeah, reach out to like body that pissed you off recently. Just give it a shot at reconciliation, ropes, because this is tough and we are going the wrong direction.
00:23:32
Speaker 2: We certainly are well. We hope, we hope we can all learn from this and see what's happening and just do better. So thank you for listening to us. I'm Amy Roboch alongside t. J. Holmes. We will talk to you very soon.