Where Are Bari Weiss and the Free Speech Warriors Now?

When history looks back on this week, what happened to Charlie Kirk will not be remembered solely for the event itself — it will be remembered for what came after. In the two days since, a wave of suspensions, firings, and resignations has swept across the country, ushering in what feels like a new era: one in which speech is treated as a crime, and institutions — from corporations to schools to government agencies — rush to prove their loyalty by punishing dissent.

This isn’t about bad actors or criminal behavior. It’s about social media posts, reshares, offhand comments, even private messages. The result is a sweeping crackdown that risks redefining the very idea of free expression. History shows us that moments of crisis are often used to justify broad restrictions. What happened this week is being used in similar ways — to punish speech and dissent. Dozens of people have lost their jobs or been suspended over posts and comments regarding Kirk — including some who only reposted Kirk’s own quotes.

MSNBC fired Matthew Dowd for stating the obvious. The NFL’s Carolina Panthers dismissed staffer Charlie Rock. NBA reporter Gerald Bourguet was dropped by the Phoenix Suns. DC Comics canceled an entire Red Hood series after writer Gretchen Felker-Martin made controversial remarks online.

Teachers, professors, and school staff from across the country — including Jennifer Courtemanche, AJ Barber, James Reilly, Annika Rutz, and many others — have been terminated or suspended.

A U.S. Secret Service employee, Captain Jacoby Williamson of the Marines, a Nashville firefighter, and workers in districts from Greenville to Naples have faced consequences. Local council members like Steve Cody in Florida have also been pressured to resign.

From tattoo artists to Legal Aid social workers, the consequences have been swift. At universities in Kentucky and Ole Miss, professors and staff have been dismissed overnight.

This is not a handful of isolated incidents. This has become a nationwide wave of punishments, carried out by political, corporate, and institutional leaders, and conservatives are celebrating it, the same people who spent years decrying cancel culture. There are hundreds of social media Karens scouring the Internet right now in an attempt to target and punish those with whom they disagree.

What’s happening is not about whether someone’s comments were crude or insensitive. It’s about fear — institutions protecting themselves by demonstrating a readiness to silence and punish. The very concept of “free speech” is collapsing. Whether enforced by government or employer policy or by social media mobs, the effect is the same: silence. When social, economic, and professional survival depend on silence, dissent is erased.

The question is not whether one agrees with the remarks made about Charlie Kirk. I do not celebrate political violence against anyone. The question is whether speech itself should carry the penalty of professional destruction. If the answer is yes, then this moment transcends Kirk — it implicates all of us.

This is a dangerous moment for America beyond the potential for more political unrest. It is a dangerous moment for free speech and, right now, there is no one — certainly not Bari Weiss, Joe Rogan, or the other so-called free speech warriors — to protect us. Because for them, it was never really about free speech. It was about using the First Amendment as a cudgel to silence those with whom they disagreed.

Be careful what you say. Under his eye.