Remarks about Kirk’s assassination spark an intense political backlash and underscore Florida’s crackdown on educators for “violent statements.”
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) has launched a blistering attack on Leon County School Board member Darryl Jones for his remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling them “disgraceful” and an act that “fans division.”
Jones’s comments came in response to Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsa’s recent announcement that educators who made “disgusting comments” about Kirk’s death would face investigations.
In a post on social media, Jones blasted that Kamoutsa “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.”
The RPOF condemned Jones, stating that his words were “reckless, inflammatory, and beneath the dignity of his office.”
In a press release, RPOF Chairman Evan Power said, “Darryl Jones is supposed to be leading in education, but instead he’s stoking the flames of division and dishonoring the office he holds. Mark our words: we will root out the low-life radical agitators who have embedded themselves in our education system.”
This political skirmish is part of a broader, statewide effort by Florida officials to address what they describe as a troubling rise in political violence and inflammatory rhetoric. At a press conference on Monday, Attorney General James Uthmeier and Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsa announced new measures to hold educators accountable.
Uthmeier, citing Kirk’s death and other recent acts of political violence, unveiled the “Combating Violent Extremism Portal” on his office’s website. The portal allows citizens to report “calls for violence or a threat for violence against other individuals” and promises to refer these reports to investigators and law enforcement. Uthmeier emphasized that while the state respects the First Amendment, “a threat of violence, a call for violence, that is not protected by the First Amendment.”
Education Commissioner Kamoutsa focused his remarks on the conduct of teachers. He announced that the Florida Department of Education would be conducting “thorough investigations” into each case of a teacher making social media posts that celebrate or encourage violence. He cited the case of a Clay County teacher who, following Kirk’s death, posted, “This may not be the obituary we were all hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me.”
Kamoutsa stated he had found “probable cause” to file charges against the teacher, including “gross immorality” and “failure to protect the health, safety, and welfare of students,” and would be seeking to revoke her license.
He reiterated that while educators have First Amendment rights, those rights “do not extend without limit into their professional duties” and that “comments that celebrate violence in schools, encourages young impressionable Minds to engage in violent Behavior.”
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