A private arbitrator has ordered The Washington Post to reinstate columnist Karen Attiah and provide her with back pay, ruling that the newspaper did not have sufficient cause to terminate her employment following social media posts made after the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The decision, issued Thursday, found that the Post violated the terms of Attiah's employment when it fired her in September 2025, according to The New York Times. Arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa stated that the newspaper "failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct."
The Post initially announced Attiah's termination the day after Kirk's assassination, citing a series of posts on her BlueSky account. One post stated that "part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence." Another post from the same day declared that "refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is….not the same as violence."
In a termination letter, The Post's HR chief Wayne Connell stated that Attiah's public comments on social media regarding Kirk's death harmed "the integrity of our organization, and potentially endanger the physical safety of our staff."
Attiah, who was 40 at the time of her firing, expressed her hope that the arbitrator's decision "sends a message to journalists and media institutions everywhere that freedom of expression is always worth fighting for." She also stated her willingness to return to work at The Post and relief that "that record set straight."
"This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion writer, and this was wrongful termination," Attiah said in a statement. She described The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, as "one of the world’s most storied newspapers."
A spokeswoman for The Post said the newspaper respects the arbitration process but declined further comment.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem. He was 31. The alleged assassin is currently being tried and has not entered a plea.
The assassination sparked division, with some journalists facing consequences for comments made about the incident. MSNBC's Matthew Dowd, for example, was reportedly fired for suggesting Kirk's own words contributed to his death.
Attiah told the publication Status at the time of her firing that her posts referred to "the state of gun violence in general" and called the Post's decision to terminate her over them "a level of cruelty I did not expect."
This incident occurred in the context of broader changes at The Washington Post's Opinion Section implemented after Jeff Bezos purchased the paper in 2013. Bezos, who aimed to make the paper profitable, had overseen a shift in tone focusing on "personal liberties and free markets." The Post has reported significant financial losses in recent years, losing more than $100 million in 2025.