MERIDIAN, Idaho — A Meridian High School employee, Annika Rutz, has been fired from the West Ada School District for posting a video on social media celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination at Utah Valley University.
In the video that circulated online, Rutz, who is wearing a Meridian High School t-shirt, claims Kirk got what he deserved and then proceedes to say, "I'm not saying I wish death upon someone, but that's what I'm f— saying for this motherf—, piece of f— s—, I hope he's dead, is that going to get me arrested?" to which she sarcastically adds, "I hope he's not dead, pray for Charlie Kirk."
She goes on to add, "And he's a huge advocate for gun rights, if that isn't irony, I don't know what is. Today is a good day, today's a good day."
In what appear to be subsequent posts to Snapchat stories, Rutz shows herself with a pensive face with text that reads, "Confirmed: he's dead."
A second post includes a selfie of Rutz with text that reads, "No he didn't deserve to be violently killed like that, it's a horrible devastating thing that his family did not need to witness and it didn't need to happen. This will tear our country apart further. However, he wasn't exactly a good man."
In response to the video, West Ada School District (WASD) posted on social media on Thursday morning, saying they've since "terminated" Rutz for violating "school and district policy."
The post goes on to ask people not to share the video content. The post concludes, "West Ada remains committed to nurturing and supporting our students and families, and to addressing harmful actions thoughtfully, with care, and with a focus on doing what's right."
Idaho Senator Tammy Nichols reposted the video on Wednesday, criticizing the employees behavior.
Nichols provided the following statement to Idaho News 6 regarding the incident: " I was deeply disturbed by the social media post from a local school employee celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Such vile rhetoric has no place in our community or in any position of influence over our youth. I have been informed that the situation has been addressed and the employee has been terminated. Others who may come to light engaging in similar behavior should be handled accordingly. My post was intended to call out this behavior, condemn it unequivocally, and remind our community that we must stand for civility, respect, and the value of every human life."
