A U.S. Secret Service employee has been placed on immediate administrative leave after reportedly celebrating the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in a social media post, Fox News Digital confirmed Friday.
“The U.S. Secret Service will not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct. This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News when asked about the employment status of Anthony Pough.
According to Real Clear Politics, Pough had posted on Facebook celebrating Kirk’s death, accusing the conservative leader of spreading “racism.”
“If you are Mourning [sic] this guy .. delete me. He spewed hate and racism on his show,” Pough wrote, according to the outlet. He also referenced the recent Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado that left two students injured, writing, “Especially when we should be mourning the innocent children killed in Colorado.”
Pough further claimed that Kirk’s death was “karma,” writing, “At the end of the day, you answer to GOD and speak things into existence. You can only circumvent karma, she doesnt [sic] leave.”
Kirk was attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon when a single shot rang out and struck Kirk in the neck. He was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead just hours later.
Real Clear Politics reported that Pough was in “Phase 2” of his career with the Secret Service, a stage where agents are focused on protective assignments. He had not yet been assigned to any regular detail protecting former President Donald Trump. According to the agency’s website, Phase 3 typically involves post-protective field, protection, or headquarters assignments.
Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon while attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. He was struck once in the neck and later pronounced dead at a local hospital. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children, ages 1 and 3. The couple married in 2021. (RELATED: MSNBC Fires Analyst Matthew Dowd For ‘Unacceptable’ Charlie Kirk Comments)
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Kirk, as well as their two children, ages 1 and 3. The Kirks married in 2021.
Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance accompanied Kirk’s casket back to Arizona, where he resided with his family, on Thursday via Air Force Two.
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