University of Missouri warns employees about speech after Charlie Kirk's death

Kacen Bayless, The Kansas City Star on Sep 19, 2025

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As nationwide firings and disciplinary actions mount in the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s shooting death, the head of the University of Missouri System warned employees that their online speech could result in termination.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi, in an email sent Wednesday, cautioned employees and faculty that their comments could affect the university. Speech that “causes significant disruption can be a basis for discipline or termination,” the email said.

The Star received a copy of the email, which was forwarded to employees at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The email, which has been shared on social media, was also sent to employees at the university’s main campus in Columbia.

“Employees do not have unlimited rights to speak as citizens on matters of public concern,” the email said. “If an employee’s speech can cause disruption such as workplace disharmony, impeded performance or impaired working relationships, the university’s interest in the efficiency of its operations may outweigh the employee’s rights of free expression.”

The email did not specifically mention Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist who was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University last week. But Choi’s warning comes as institutions across the country have been on edge in the wake of Kirk’s death.

The shooting has resulted in a fierce backlash online against people accused of inappropriate comments about Kirk, his death and legacy. Professors and employees at other universities have been fired or faced disciplinary actions for public comments about Kirk.

Choi said in the email that the university has fielded complaints and media inquiries about content posted on social media by employees “in their personal capacities.”

“This occurs even in instances when individuals have not identified themselves as employees but their affiliation with the university is often known or can be found,” the email said.

A university spokesperson told The Star on Friday that Choi sent the email to remind employees of the university’s policies and the “special circumstances that surround their speech in the context of their employment as members of the staff and faculty.”

“The message was not sent in response to an incident,” said spokesperson Christopher Ave, who did not clarify whether any employees have faced discipline. “None of our policies have changed.”

Gregory Magarian, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said the email appeared to be carefully crafted and accurately described laws surrounding the First Amendment.

But he cautioned that the message also came across as a “veiled threat.”

“The university could say something like, ‘we don’t intend to, you know, push this unless it’s a really extreme thing,’” said Magarian. “I would have kind of liked it better if they said that.”

Amid the wave of firings and disciplinary actions across the country, Magarian said it is a First Amendment violation for the government to pressure employers into firing someone because of their speech.

Private employers have more discretion to fire employees, but he cautioned that firing someone over ordinary political speech was “corrosive of robust public discourse.”

“What’s happening now bothers me a lot,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got concerted efforts by conservative activists to go after anybody who basically does not revere and express reverence for Charlie Kirk and that’s a really bad thing for society.”

The most visible example of the national fallout came earlier this week when ABC suspended talk show host Jimmy Kimmel over comments he made in the wake of Kirk’s death.

The suspension came amid public pressure from President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and has been roundly criticized by free speech advocates.

In neighboring Kansas, a school board member was ousted from her job with the Kansas State Department of Education for comments she made about Kirk.

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The Star’s Eric Adler contributed reporting.

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