Politics
Rokita Pressures Braun to Punish Teachers Over Charlie Kirk Posts
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is publicly demanding that Gov. Mike Braun direct the state education department to discipline dozens of teachers referred for social media comments about Charlie Kirk's murder, more than a year after Braun warned such posts could cost educators their licenses.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is publicly pressuring Gov. Mike Braun to take disciplinary action against teachers who made social media comments about the murder of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, accusing the governor of failing to follow through on his own warnings.
In a statement posted to social media, Rokita said his office has referred numerous educators to the Indiana Department of Education for potential licensing action but that the governor's office has not acted on those referrals more than a year after Kirk's assassination.
"We are asking you to back up your words by directing IDOE to address our referrals and pursue the appropriate licensing action," Rokita said. "When will your administration act?"
Rokita's statement included screenshots of posts from two teachers. One read: "With all due disrespect, Charlie Kirk can suck it." He argued that such comments raise "serious questions about an educator's fitness to teach," noting that many students hold beliefs similar to Kirk's.
"How can [students] feel safe and respected in a classroom led by someone who publicly states that the world would be better off without people like them?" Rokita wrote.
The escalation comes after Braun said in September 2025, in the immediate aftermath of Kirk's killing, that teachers who celebrated the murder online could lose their teaching licenses.
"In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination, there have been some terrible things shared, particularly across social media," Braun said at the time. "While we must protect the First Amendment, calls for political violence are not freedom of speech and should not be tolerated."
But reporting a month later found that no Indiana teachers had lost their licenses over such comments. Now, more than a year after the assassination, Rokita is questioning why the governor has not taken action against the dozens of educators his office referred.
The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute unfolds against a broader debate over free expression and employment consequences. A Ball State University employee was fired over posts about Kirk, and the university ultimately settled a lawsuit over the termination.
Rokita's public call for discipline raises questions about how far the state should go in policing educators' speech outside the classroom, and whether the governor's earlier warning was meant as a serious threat or political rhetoric. For Indiana teachers and families, the standoff leaves unresolved what consequences, if any, will follow for the educators whose cases remain pending before the state.