Charlie Kirk’s death ‘deserved,’ Kansas official said. Calls mount for her firing
A Kansas school board member is facing harsh criticism and calls for her firing after posting comments on Thursday saying that the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University was “well deserved.”
Katie Allen, who works for the Kansas Department of Education and is on the board of the Manhattan-Ogden School District, quickly apologized for the posting.
‘I deeply apologize’
“Late this afternoon I was walking to my car and scrolling Facebook,” Allen wrote in a statement, The Mercury in Manhattan reported, “and then an emotional moment I commented on a post related to a recent shooting. I looked back at the post when I got to my car I quickly realized I didn’t intend the meaning the two words I wrote had so I deleted my comment. Too late – it only took moments for social media users to screen grab my words and quickly spread them.
Allen continued, “For anyone who was offended by my words, I deeply apologize. That is not who I am or what I believe – which is why I deleted that comment so fast. Like many of you, I am deeply worried about the violence and discontent happening in America today and will continue to advocate for common sense laws that keep our kids and community safe. When I make a mistake, I own it and promise to do better.”
Call for firing or resignation
The apology has not appeased leading Kansas lawmakers. In Topeka on Thursday, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson and Sen. Brad Starnes, whose district includes Manhattan in Riley County, called for Allen’s firing.
“Charlie Kirk was murdered for sharing his faith and expressing his political views,” Masterson said in a press statement. “Katie Allen’s statement that he deserved to die is absolutely reprehensible. Anyone holding such a belief should not be employed by the state of Kansas and has no place making policy decisions for our children.”
Masterson urged Randy Watson, the Kansas Education Commissioner, “to immediately remove Allen from her position at the Kansas Department of Education, and I call on Ms. Allen to resign from the USD 383 school board.”
Allen’s comment, the Mercury reported, was a reply to a repost on Facebook by Courtney Jane Hochman, who is a school board candidate. The original post was a People magazine story reporting on Kirk’s killing on Wednesday. The post included a quote from Kirk who, speaking of the Second Amendment gun rights and mass killings, once said, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
Starnes, the senator, added his voice to Masterson’s in the press statement calling Allen’s comment, “abhorrent.”
“The safety and moral credibility of Kansas schools are on the line,” Starnes said. “Our students deserve better than educational ‘leaders’ who dehumanize people whom they disagree with. Such remarks demonstrate that they have no place shaping education policy or serving in elected office in our community.”
Suspect in custory after 33-hour manhunt
Kirk, 31, was speaking outside, from beneath a small tent, to a crowd of about 3,000 students who gathered on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he was killed by an assassin’s bullet. Kirk had been appearing on campuses as part of a national tour, one that was to include a stop at the University of Missouri on Sept. 29.
The FBI and other law enforcement launched a manhunt that lasted 33 hours.
On Friday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced that they had a suspect in custody, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, located in southern Utah some 250 miles away from the scene of Kirk’s killing. Robinson is currently being held in the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder and other felonies. Authorities believe Robinson acted alone.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 2:12 PM.
