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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board member Melissa Easley faced criticism over the weekend for a statement on the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. And on Monday, CMS said that messages supportive of Kirk painted on a rock outside Ardrey Kell High School were left without permission and are considered vandalism.
Both incidents come as social media commentators have been highlighting statements and posts responding to Kirk’s death that they say are critical of him or celebratory of his death. There have been several instances of individuals being fired or disciplined for those statements, including a Carolina Panthers communications employee.
In a post on her personal Facebook page last week after Kirk's assassination, Easley condemned political violence and said she was “saddened that this was yet another political issue that caused a death.”
But Easley also alluded to Kirk’s past comments, in which he said it was “worth it” to accept some gun deaths in order to preserve the Second Amendment. And she also said she wouldn’t mourn Kirk, citing his past comments about the LGBTQ community.
Easley described Kirk as someone who “has gone around saying I or my spouse are abominations, that we are mentally ill, that we don’t deserve the same rights as everyone else.”
In 2023, Easley publicly said her family had faced harassment because of her bisexuality and her husband’s gender fluidity, as the CMS board weighed policies to comply with the state’s Parents Bill of Rights law.
The post went viral after major conservative accounts like Libs of TikTok accused her of demonizing Kirk. Critics on social media have called on her to resign.
In a follow-up statement, Easley didn’t back down from her criticisms of Kirk, but reiterated that she doesn’t condone political violence. Easley said she was “speaking freely as an individual citizen,” and not as a member of the CMS board.
“My comments reflected my personal views and should not be mischaracterized as celebrating violence or the loss of life,” Easley said.
In its own statement Friday night, the board said it does not condone violence and said views expressed by individual members do not represent the board as a whole.
Messages on Ardrey Kell spirit rock prompt investigation
Meanwhile, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said a law enforcement investigation is underway after somebody painted messages in support of Kirk on the spirit rock outside of Ardrey Kell High School.
Social media images show the rock was painted with the message “Live like Kirk,” a Bible verse and the message “Freedom 1776.”
In a message to families, Principal Susan Nichols said the message was “not authorized by the school or the district” and is considered vandalism.
“If students were responsible for the vandalism, they may be disciplined,” Nichols wrote. “Law enforcement has been contacted and we are cooperating with the investigation.”
The spirit rock outside Ardrey Kell has historically acted as a sounding board for students and the school community, often being repainted with messages and designs to celebrate school spirit.
It’s not the first time the spirit rock has made headlines for a politically contentious issue. In 2020, students decorated the rock to honor the Black Lives Matter movement, but it was later defaced.
