Beni Rae Harmony, a television anchor at WICS-ABC20 in Springfield, Illinois, resigned Monday after she said the station suspended her for airing a 1-minute, 17-second on-air tribute to Charlie Kirk following his fatal shooting.
Harmony announced her departure on X, saying the suspension came after she honored Kirk, whom she described as a mentor. "Effective immediately, I have resigned from @WICS_ABC20 after being SUSPENDED for airing a non-partisan tribute to Charlie Kirk this past Friday," she wrote. She added that her decision was "guided by values that are essential to who I am, which I refuse to set aside in order to keep a job."
On the broadcast, Harmony, fighting back tears, told viewers it was natural to feel "sadness" or to be "grieving" after the killing of the Turning Point USA founder. She said Kirk was her first boss early in her media career and quoted a phrase he would often repeat: "When conversations stop happening. When individuals become wordless, that's when violence begins. So, if you do one thing today, make it be with passion, with conviction, stand up for your friends, stand up for your beliefs, and speak loudly, even if your voice shakes. Your words have meaning, your values have purpose. Never forget that." She closed the brief tribute by offering prayers for Kirk's family and for the United States.
Harmony's LinkedIn lists work as a producer and administrator at Turning Point USA in the Washington, D.C.–Baltimore area from August 2021 to February 2022. The New York Post reported it had reached out to WICS-ABC20 for comment.
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot last Wednesday while speaking at a university in Utah during a tour with the organization. Video footage of the shooting circulated online, and the incident prompted a wave of social media posts and public responses.
In the days after the shooting, employers and networks moved against employees who posted what authorities and companies described as celebratory or mocking content about Kirk's death. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post that American Airlines pilots who were "caught celebrating" the assassination were "immediately grounded and removed from service." MSNBC removed analyst Matthew Dowd after remarks he made on-air about Kirk in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn called for the termination of a Middle Tennessee State University employee who wrote that Kirk had "spoke his fate into existence," and a worker at an Office Depot store in Michigan was reported to have been fired after refusing to print flyers for Kirk.
Harmony said in her X post that she believed she was the first to be targeted by her station for honoring Kirk on air and emphasized that she would not compromise her faith or patriotism to remain employed. "I choose my faith and love of country, and always will," she wrote. She concluded with a message of solidarity: "Thank you, Springfield. My home. My community. My people. God bless Charlie Kirk and his beautiful family, and God bless these United States of America."
The episode adds to a broader debate about workplace responses to employees' public statements and social media activity after highly charged political violence. Media organizations and other employers have faced scrutiny over where to draw lines between permissible expression and conduct they say undermines public trust or violates company policies.
Harmony's resignation follows the removal of her biography from the station's website, according to the Post. The station has not issued a public statement detailing the reasons for the suspension or her departure beyond what was reported by news outlets. The shooting that killed Kirk remains under investigation by law enforcement authorities.