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13th September 2025
10:52am BST
An American Secret Service employee has been placed on administrative leave after they appeared to celebrate the death of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk on social media.
And as of Thursday (11 September), it has now been confirmed that right-wing political commentator Kirk was killed by a 22-year-old named Tyler Robinson who has been detained by local authorities.
The 31-year-old’s death has created shockwaves across the global political landscape, prompting tributes from the likes of Donald Trump and Keir Starmer.
The Turning Point USA founder was outspoken on a number of divisive issues such as immigration and LGTQIA rights, and was known for promoting false vaccine theories.
This negative depiction of Kirk was expressed by a member of staff for the American Secret Service who is said to have allegedly "celebrated" his death.
Anthony Pough, who worked for the Secret Service, is said to have accused Charlie Kirk of "propagating racism" in a now deleted Facebook post.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service has already spoken out about Mr Pough's actions.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, they said: "The U.S. Secret Service will not tolerate behaviour that violates our code of conduct. This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun."
Pough's comments came after an official memo was issued to all Secret Service personnel in the days after Kirk's death.
As first reported by CBS News, Secret Service Director Sean Curran wrote to employees and asked them to be "focused on being the solution, not adding to the problem."
The full memo reads: "Let me be clear, politically motivated attacks in our nation are increasing - seemingly every day.
"The men and women of the Secret Service must be focused on being the solution, not adding to the problem.
"We swear an oath to those we protect to conduct ourselves with the highest standards of conduct on and off duty.
"When our actions draw public attention for the wrong reasons, we fall short of that duty and compromise the trust essential to fulfil our mission.
"We must operate every day without bias towards political affiliation. We owe it to ourselves and those we are sworn to protect. Any distractions, otherwise, will not be tolerated."
Charlie Kirk was one of the best known faces on America's political right.
The podcast and YouTube channels Kirk founded had tens of millions of followers, and the 31-year-old was best known for bringing more conservative views to college campuses where he would speak and engage with students.
It was at one of these events, at a university in Utah, where Kirk was shot and killed.
He leaves behind his wife Erika and two children.
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