She despised Charlie Kirk. He was set on making people like her pay.
A paramedic and a former mayor got caught up in a digital “civil war.”
From The Times
October 26, 2025

After Charlie Kirk was murdered, a paramedic in rural Texas posted about it on her private Facebook page. Forty miles away, a former small-town mayor who had always conceived of himself as a peacemaker became determined to make people like her pay.

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Desiree Rios for The New York Times

“Over 1,000 fired,” he posted. “Let’s make it 10x tomorrow.” →

MORE COVERAGE

Two signs hang on a fence. One features a photo of Charlie Kirk and says “Never forget,” and the other shows Jesus hugging a man in a “Freedom” T-shirt, with the words “I am nothing without Jesus.”

A broad wave of firings followed Charlie Kirk’s assassination. →

A flag flying at half-staff over the White House at night.

Essay

Here’s what the public memory of Charlie Kirk revealed. →

Charlie Kirk wears a suit and speaks into a microphone.

The U.S. said it revoked visas from some people who criticized Charlie Kirk. →

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