Those outraged over insensitive responses to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk took to social media across the country over the last week.
As a result, many individuals lost their jobs, whether through resignations or firings.
Lewis County is not exempt from the fallout.
A pair of local politicians took turns blasting a Lewis County Coroner’s Office worker this week after the employee shared Facebook posts and comments critical of Kirk and celebratory over his death.
Nineteenth Legislative District state Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, and Republican Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope were both critical of the comments and posts on Facebook.
The original reactionary post from McEntire was a combination of screenshots of other Facebook posts from the employee.
The posts from an account with the name Paul Bromm were composed of reshared images and memes making light of the Kirk assassination, with phrases such as “nice shot.”
In his original post from Sept. 11, McEntire identified Bromm and called him a “disgusting person” while also tagging Swope in the post. Swope later added his own caption to the post, further identifying Bromm as an employee of the Lewis County Coroner's Office.
In his post, Swope condemned the post from Bromm and went on to say that the post does not reflect the values of Lewis County.
“I am truly saddened that anyone would celebrate the assassination of a fellow American — especially over differences of opinion, thought or debate,” Swope said.
He went on to encourage community members to contact Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod over the issue.
According to McLeod, the posts and comments in question are now under review by the county prosecutor’s office and human resources department.
“While I do understand the First Amendment gives people the freedom of speech, which means the First Amendment says that the government cannot pass any laws abridging the freedom of speech, so they can't tell you what they can and can't say,” McLeod said. “But, in some cases, some speech has consequences, and that's not necessarily protected under the First Amendment.”
Bromm has since removed all but one post from his Facebook page, seemingly addressing the fallout from the original posts that have drawn so much attention. In the post, he said that his feelings about Kirk have not changed but that his rights might have.
He added that those feelings may have been best kept to himself.
“I do not nor have I ever condoned violence, but I did appreciate Karma when it unfolded,” Bromm wrote. “But maybe the expression of that satisfaction was not tasteful to share. I make no apologies for my morals or feelings, but maybe my expression is best kept to myself.”
