Donald Trump shooting posts on social media are costing people their jobs

Several Americans have lost their jobs for social media posts in the days since former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.

The Republican presidential nominee was rushed offstage by Secret Service agents after a gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire from a nearby rooftop while Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, and one rallygoer was killed and two others seriously injured before Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.

Trump made a triumphant appearance at the Republican National Convention’s opening night on Monday with a bandage covering his ear.

In an address to the nation on Sunday, President Joe Biden urged Americans to reject political violence.

“All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches,” he said. “There is no place in America for this kind of violence—for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

But in the wake of the shooting, several people across the country have faced repercussions after sharing posts on social media that appeared to express disappointment that the attempt on Trump’s life failed. A Trump spokesperson has been contacted for comment via email.

In South Dakota, the Sioux Falls School District fired Cassandra Oleson over a post she made on her personal Facebook page shortly after the shooting.

“Shoot — If only he would’ve had his scope sighted in correctly,” Oleson, a behavior facilitator at Ben Reifel Middle School, wrote on the page under the name Cassie Martin, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

A district spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that Oleson has been terminated.

The district’s code of conduct policy “clearly outlines the high standards to which we hold all staff members, given the public trust in our responsibility to educate the children of our community and serve as positive role models,” the district said in a statement provided by spokesperson Tory Stolen. “The staff member’s statement does not align with the school district’s values and was not condoned in any way.”

Oleson’s Facebook page is no longer active and she could not immediately be contacted for comment.

In Texas, RaceOn, an auto racing broadcast company, fired Phil Whipple over comments he posted on Facebook.

“We are aware of the post made by Phil Whipple,” RaceOn posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. “Those statements made reflect the view of Phil, and not RaceOn, our racing community, sponsors, or partners. Phil’s relationship with RaceOn has been terminated.”

According to screenshots circulating on social media, Whipple posted on Facebook that “the next shooter isn’t going to miss.”

“By September 1, that man will be DEAD. And the half of us in this great nation who understand what a threat he is to DEMOCRACY will stand and cheer.”

Whipple’s Facebook page is no longer active, but in another post, he said his page had been hacked. Newsweek has sought to contact Whipple through messages on other social media accounts.

Christine DeShazo, a pharmacy worker in Texas, was fired over posts that expressed disappointment that the assassination attempt failed.

DeShazo wrote “damn, they missed” on Facebook, according to a post shared on X by the popular Libs of TikTok account that sparked outrage and calls for her firing.

DeShazo’s employer, Guardian Pharmacy in Arlington, Texas, told DailyMail.com that she had been terminated. “Her personal views are not reflective of our company’s beliefs,” the pharmacy said.

The pharmacy has been contacted for further comment via its website.

Social media campaigns to get ordinary Americans fired “for expressing political opinions or making jokes are illiberal and contribute to a climate of fear and self-censorship,” Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Newsweek.

“Every time businesses cave to these demands, they encourage more of the same,” Terr said. “And when the employer is the government, the firings raise serious First Amendment concerns. To escape the cancel culture cycle, Americans need to embrace dialogue and criticism as alternatives to imposing devastating life consequences on people for their opinions.”

First Amendment protections do not apply in most of the cases since the companies firing the individuals are not government-funded state actors, Nancy Costello, a professor at Michigan State University School of Law and director of the school’s First Amendment Law Clinic, told Newsweek. “First Amendment free speech protections apply when the government penalizes someone for their speech, for expressing a particular viewpoint,” Costello said.

Free speech rights “technically” do apply in Oleson’s case, but the employment contract she signed with the school district is a factor, she said.

“If under the contract, the teacher must abide by a code of conduct put in place by the school district because a teacher serves as a role model for students, etc., then the school district may fire her because she didn’t abide by the contract,” Costello said. “By signing the contract, the teacher essentially agrees that some of her free speech rights may be curtailed because of the nature of the job.”