A U.S. Secret Service agent has been placed on administrative leave after a Facebook post surfaced in which he appeared to celebrate the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was gunned down Wednesday during a Utah campus event.
The Post
The agent, identified as Anthony Pough, wrote:
“If you are mourning this guy… delete me. He spewed hate and racism on his show. You can’t circumvent karma, she doesnt [sic] leave.”
Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, husband, and father of two, was shot in the neck by a rooftop sniper while speaking at Utah Valley University.
RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree first flagged the Facebook post, noting it was circulating among Secret Service personnel.
Some agents expressed outrage, saying Pough’s comments amounted to celebrating the murder of a political figure who had been closely aligned with President Donald Trump.
“If that’s all it takes to set you off, that’s dangerous to have around,” one Secret Service source told Crabtree.
Anthony Pough
Another agent added concern about whether Pough’s political views could compromise his ability to protect Trump or other high-profile MAGA figures:
“I’m mostly concerned about the morals of a person sworn to protect the rights of others to engage in politics and exercise free speech, celebrating the death of someone exercising those same rights.”
DHS sources confirmed that Pough has been placed on administrative leave pending termination proceedings.
The Secret Service has not yet issued a formal public statement but is said to be reviewing the matter.
Broader Context
The comments come just one day after MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for controversial remarks suggesting Kirk’s “hateful” rhetoric contributed to his own death.
MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler called those remarks “insensitive and unacceptable.”
The two incidents have intensified scrutiny of how mainstream institutions and federal employees handle political bias, particularly in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.
Kirk’s Legacy
Kirk was one of the most prominent voices in conservative youth activism, having founded Turning Point USA in 2012.
He was honored posthumously this week by President Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff nationwide and announced that Kirk would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He’s the result of the government paying black women to have illiterate children.