In the weeks since right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk was fatally shot by a gunman in Utah, private companies across the country have rushed to punish employees for criticizing the deceased. Looming behind this extraordinary crackdown is President Donald Trump’s equally extraordinary use of federal power as a cudgel to force corporations, universities, and other institutions to do his bidding.
You know about Jimmy Kimmel. You may have heard what happened to opinion journalist Karen Attiah. Yet beyond these high-profile instances of corporate kowtowing are an unknown number of rank-and-file workers who’ve been forced out of work for social media posts that cast Kirk in an unflattering light.
