QUINCY, Mass. — The Massachusetts Teachers Association is urging school districts across the state to stand by educators who have posted controversial messages regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In a joint statement, MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy condemned what they described as politically motivated attacks from extreme conservative groups targeting teachers for expressing their views online.
“The ongoing campaign by extreme-right conservatives to discredit and defund public education has grotesquely exploited the shooting death of Charlie Kirk to launch attacks against people commenting on this public figure’s beliefs and statements,” Page and McCarthy said.
Teachers in several school districts have been placed on leave over comments about the killing of Kirk, including in Peabody, Sharon, Holden, and Framingham.
Leaders in those districts haven’t shared explicit details on the alleged posts the teachers made, but some town superintendents have described the messaging as “highly inappropriate,” “insensitive,” “hateful,” “extremely concerning,” and “distressing.”
The MTA is calling on school administrators to protect teachers from harassment and to uphold their rights to free speech and due process.
“The Massachusetts Teachers Association is calling on local school districts and public colleges and universities to be partners with unions in the fight to defend educators from bullying and harassment and to protect their rights,” Page and McCarthy said.
Attacks against educators and others have included death threats and the promise of violence, according to MTA leadership.
“We are insisting that public school administrators or officials not take actions that validate accusations by extremists against educators,” Page and McCarthy added. “It is imperative that schools and colleges play a role in shaping a comprehensive strategy to mitigate this climate of violence.”
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale denounced the MTA for defending disparaging comments about Kirk.
“The assassination of Charlie Kirk should be a moment of reflection about political dialogue, but instead, the Massachusetts Teachers Association has chosen to defend educators who posted despicable comments that create a safety threat,” Carnevale said in a statement. “Students already fearful about expressing their conservative beliefs now must worry that the state’s largest teachers association will further inflame partisan divisions. We should all condemn the horrific murder of a father whose only crime was speaking with others who held alternative views.”
Kirk, an influential President Trump ally who at age 18 set up Turning Point USA, was shot and killed last week while speaking at a college campus in Utah.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with murder in connection with Kirk’s death. He could face the death penalty, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
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