Pentagon says personnel mocking assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be punished

The Pentagon has launched formal investigations into several military personnel accused of mocking the assassination of conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk on social media, as well as criticizing President Trump in some cases.

A senior master sergeant in the Air Force called Mr. Kirk “a P.O.S. who spread hate and vitriol.” The sergeant criticized others for “lionizing a terrible human being” after Kirk was fatally shot at a public event at a college in  Utah. 

The service member also posted an upside-down U.S. flag on his Facebook page — often considered a distress warning — along with a photograph of President Trump with the caption: “I can’t respect people who respect him.”

The Facebook posts were passed to Pentagon officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has asked his staff to identify any personnel accused of ridiculing Mr. Kirk’s assassination. 

On Saturday, Undersecretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier examined the servicemember’s Facebook page. He noted “repeated” violations of the oath to defend the Constitution and show respect for the president as commander-in-chief.

Mr. Lohmeier said the Facebook posts from the Air Force member appear to violate, at the very least, Article 134 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, which deals with maintaining good order and discipline and anything that could bring discredit to the armed forces. 

“There will be swift accountability. I’ve asked our senior military leaders to read the member his rights and place him and his entire chain of command under investigation,” Mr. Lohmeier wrote on X. “Zero tolerance for this. Men and women who are guilty of this kind of behavior will not serve in uniform.”

Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger, criticized “hunting down and prosecuting” military personnel for their individual political beliefs. He called the tactic “dangerous and un-American.”

“We must condemn political violence and allow peaceful speech that doesn’t impact the chain of command,” Rep. Crow wrote on X.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said it was unacceptable for military personnel to mock or celebrate the assassination.