A Rhode Island teacher who was placed on administrative leave after calling Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk a “piece of garbage” in the immediate aftermath of his assassination is set to be reinstated.
In an email sent last Friday, which was obtained by Fox News, interim Superintendent Bob Mitchell of Barrington Public Schools announced that social studies teacher would be returning to the classroom despite violating the district’s social media policies.
“The high school teacher at the center of the recent district independent investigation will be returning to the classroom on December 1,” the email from Mitchell read. “The investigator’s now public report confirms that the teacher violated district social media policy, resulting in substantial disruption to our district.
“This is a personnel matter, and while we cannot share details of internal actions, the district is moving forward and maintaining strong expectations for staff conduct.”
Shortly after Kirk was gunned down by a far-left extremist while speaking with students at Utah Valley University on September 10, Fillio unleashed into a roughly one-minute video tirade in which he claimed Kirk “hated the LGBTQ community” and “hated women’s rights.”
He was placed on administrative leave after posting the video statement, in which he said, Kirk “thought he proved how tough he was with his words … What a piece of garbage. Look what happens … Bye, Charlie!”
BREAKING: Benjamin Fillo, a teacher at @bps_ri has been placed on administrative leave after reportedly posting this disgusting video celebrating and mocking Charlie’s m*rder
FIRE HIM pic.twitter.com/MQcY1KBhNF
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 12, 2025
Mitchell acknowledged the controversy in his email announcement.
“It’s no secret that over the last two months, our district has been thrust into national conversations, and students and our school community members have been exposed to online hostility and certainly a more challenging and distracting education environment in the wake of this issue,” Mitchell wrote.
“We want students, families, and staff to feel safe and supported as we transition back to routine school operations that continue the outstanding work of our district.”
He added that the school would increase security measures and had been working with state and local law enforcement, as well as the FBI’s Providence Field Office, to coordinate a response to the reinstatement. “Students who have concerns or need space to process recent events will have access to school counselors, social workers, and trained staff members. Further, our district professionals have developed additional mental health resources available to our high school students,” the interim superintendent continued.
Heather Ryan, a parent of a ninth grader at Barrington High School, told Fox News that she is “dismayed” by the decision.
“It is a true tragedy to see a teacher permitted to violate multiple school district policies and stroll back to work after a paid vacation,” Ryan said. “Celebrating political assassinations is psychotic and deserving of no accolades. My family and I are deeply disturbed but understand that left-wing unions and organizations are threatening personal attacks on our district administration and elected officials.”
A statement from the Barrington School Committee said the investigation into Fillo “was conducted by an experienced third-party attorney with deep expertise in First Amendment law, public school policy, and employee conduct. The investigator’s report concludes that the teacher violated the District’s social media policy, resulting in substantial disruption to the district.”
The Barrington School Committee admitted that they were worried about backlash from teachers unions and national organizations if they did not reinstate the teacher.
“National organizations, including large labor and advocacy groups, have made this case a national flashpoint. The National Education Association has indicated its intent to pursue aggressive litigation against the District — and against individual administrators and School Committee members personally — if the district took actions they deemed not satisfactory.
The financial implications of those lawsuits would reach into several hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, while risking the important search and retention of permanent administrative leadership in our district at a time when stability is essential. We are not willing to subject Barrington to that level of financial and operational risk.”
