Washington Post ordered to reinstate columnist fired over comments on killing of conservative activist

The Washington Post has been ordered to reinstate one of its opinion columnists and pay her back wages after an arbitrator ruled that the daily wrongfully fired her over her comments following last year’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

An arbitrator ruled last Thursday that the Post lacked “good and sufficient cause” to fire Karen Attiah and thus violated its labor agreement, The New York Times reported on Monday.

“The Washington Post failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct,” wrote Sarah Miller Espinosa.

Attiah, who was fired last September, welcomed the decision Monday on US social media company Bluesky.

“After the Washington Post fired me last year for speaking the truth in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing, I fought back. And I'm happy to announce: I won my case against the Washington Post. They have been ordered to reinstate me immediately,” she wrote.

Attiah was fired following social media comments she made on Sept. 10, the day Kirk was assassinated.

On Bluesky, she defended what she called “refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence.”

The Post said her remarks had damaged the newspaper’s “integrity” and breached standards requiring employees to show civility and respect on social media.

Attiah challenged the dismissal under the newspaper’s labor agreement, arguing that her social media posts were part of her work as an opinion writer and that the Post had violated its own social media policy.