A Chicago elementary school teacher came under scrutiny for mocking the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during a No Kings protest over the weekend.
On Saturday, as the government entered the third week of a shutdown, protests took place in more than 2,500 cities across the U.S. and even abroad to oppose “authoritarian power grabs” by Trump and his administration.
Highlights
- A Chicago elementary teacher mocked Charlie Kirk’s assassination during the No Kings protest, making a gun gesture to her neck, saying, “Bang, bang.”
- Charlie Kirk was fatally shot last month, and the suspect Tyler Robinson has been charged.
- Trump authorized National Guard deployment to Chicago amid protests, and is facing legal challenges from Illinois.
The first such nationwide protest took place in June, for which more than 5 million people turned up.
A Chicago elementary school teacher was filmed putting her finger to her neck and mimicking a gun gesture
Image credits: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images
Lucy Martinez, a teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary School, was filmed putting her finger to her neck and mimicking a gun gesture as a man drove by waving a flag honoring Kirk.
As she mimicked a gun to her neck while holding a Mexican flag, she said, “Bang, bang.”
The video shows several other demonstrators making offensive gestures, including flipping the middle finger at the counter-protester.
Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck and killed last month while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged in connection with the shooting.
The incident drew national attention and led U.S. President Donald Trump to posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was accepted his widow, Erika Kirk, on October 14.
Kirk was a friend and ally of Trump and a co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization advocating for conservative politics.
Donald Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The video of Martinez quickly went viral, prompting criticism from social media users and political figures.
Ryan Fournier, co-founder of Students for Trump, said, “This woman teaches children. Lucy is now the perfect face of the ‘No Kings’ movement—a movement that preaches ‘love’ but celebrates death. Evil always exposed itself.”
The reaction online included calls for Martinez to be fired. It’s unclear if any disciplinary action has been taken against her by the school.
The school’s website has been down since this incident surfaced online.
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released a statement, saying the district “remains committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming, safe and inclusive teaching and learning environment, free from harassment, bias, or harm of any kind.”
“While CPS does not comment on specific personnel matters, the District follows a consistent process when allegations of misconduct are reported. Employees found to have violated Board policy are subject to disciplinary action.”
“Imagine if the tables were turned and a Republican did this,” GOP Sen. Mike Lee posted on X. “The media would speak of nothing else for weeks.”
Chicago, along with other Democrat-run states, has been subject to Trump’s deployment of the National Guard, citing the need to control violence and supporting his deportation initiatives.
More than 7 million people attended the protest against the Trump administration
Image credits: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images
He has also collided with Democratic senators who argue against the need to deploy troops. Despite this, Trump authorized the deployment of 300 guard members to Chicago earlier this month.
Earlier in October, the state of Illinois filed a federal lawsuit to block the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected Trump’s request to lift an order preventing the deployment of the National Guard across Illinois.
Trump had since asked the Supreme Court for permission to send troops into Chicago.
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, allowing the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in Portland, overturning one of two lower court decisions to block the deployment.