COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death, his supporters have started a social media campaign, reporting critics to their employers if users deem they posted negatively about Kirk or celebrated his death. They say it's in the name of accountability, while those being targeted say it's "cancel culture" and concerning for free speech.
Elected officials, EMS personnel, and private citizens in Ohio are all facing backlash for speaking negatively about Kirk.
"We are seeing people respond in ways that are very threatening to individuals who maybe do not like the person; they are not mourning the way they think they should be," Rachel Coyle, a progressive activist, said.
Coyle, program director at the organization Ohioans Against Extremism, is one of those being targeted.
She posted online, saying that "condemning violence makes sense," but “It is deeply disturbing to see so many people treating one of America's loudest and most damaging white supremacists as a respected public figure.”
Soon after, Kirk supporters denied her claims. Then the threats started and calls for her to lose her job.
"'If you support someone dying for their beliefs, maybe I should kill you,'" Coyle said, stating a message she received.
And she is not the only one. The City of Cleveland is investigating a firefighter and an EMS employee for comments made about Kirk.
Social media campaigns to get people fired have gone viral online, including a website that used to post critics' names and employers.
"They're pushing employers to fire people and making the employer feel obligated to do so," Coyle said.
Nonpartisan Case Western Reserve University law professor Raymond Ku said there isn’t much that citizens can do if they are disciplined or fired at work.
"Private individuals, private entities aren't subject to the First Amendment," Ku said.
It’s harder to fire a government employee, which is why Hilary Jackson had advocated for the resignation of Fairview Park City Council President Michael Kilbane after he made a comment on Facebook saying, “A lot of good people died today. Charlie Kirk wasn’t one of them.”
"Celebrating the brutal and unjust death of someone, that is a line that, of course, many of us felt that he crossed," said Jackson, who runs the Cuyahoga County chapter of conservative group Moms for Liberty.
Killbane defended his comments to us on Thursday.
“When he was asked about mass shootings at schools, he said that just comes with the territory, as in kids can get killed and it's all for the Second Amendment," Kilbane said. "It's awful what happened to him, but I guess you reap what you sow."
But he resigned over the weekend, citing the negative attention he brought to the city.
RELATED: Fairview Park City Council president resigns after backlash from social media comment
Coyle called this cancel culture, which Jackson denied.
"[It's] accountability, transparency and responsibility," Jackson said. "We as Americans have a responsibility to know what we are talking about and what actions can come from the things that we say."
She completely condemned threats, ones which Ku says can stifle free speech.
"When it spills over into intimidation, it's ‘I want to shut you out and force you out of a public discourse,’" Ku said.
For Coyle, she said the threats to her life or employment won’t stop her.
"It is my duty as an American to speak out," Coyle said. "If that leads to some relationships ending, then I feel like that is the cost of speaking freely."
Ku’s reminder: nothing you put online is private.
RELATED: Charlie Kirk's death offers rare moment of unity between College Republicans and Democrats in Ohio
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
