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Left-wing columnist Karen Attiah threatened to take legal action against the Washington Post on Wednesday, claiming she is “now a victim” after being terminated earlier this month over social media posts following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Attiah, who suggested on Bluesky she would not mourn a “White man that espoused violence,” argues she was wrongfully terminated when the Post dismissed her for “gross misconduct” over social media posts that leadership said violated company policy.
The Democracy Defenders Fund, a group that bills itself as a “nonpartisan, all-star team of experts dedicated to stopping the assault on democracy and restoring American democracy,” sent a letter on Attiah’s behalf to Post Chief Human Resources Officer Wayne Connell, saying she will “pursue all appropriate remedies” to rectify the situation.
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“Ms. Attiah did not engage in any misconduct, much less in the ‘gross misconduct’ you allege in your letter of September 11, 2025. Rather she did precisely the job you hired her to do as an opinion writer and acted fully in compliance with The Post’s own social media policy,” the letter states.
“She spoke truthfully and forcefully about matters of vital public concern, and her performance is worthy of praise – not condemnation – for speaking difficult truths at a challenging time,” the letter continued. “Ms. Attiah was clear in condemning the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
In the wake of Kirk’s tragic assassination, Attiah wrote: “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” and “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.’”
Attiah also resurfaced an old Kirk quote that made the slain conservative leader sound like he was being derogatory against all Black women, though she later admitted it was specifically about Joy Reid and Michelle Obama.
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Attiah also shared an article headlined, “Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning,” that insisted he preached “hate, bigotry, and division.”
The four-page letter sent to the Post’s human resources chief claimed that Attiah exercised “journalistic caution during a fast-breaking news event.”
“Ms. Attiah presented her opinions while condemning Mr. Kirk’s killing but at the same time refusing to engage in ‘performative mourning’ for a man who impugned Black women, put academics on watch lists, claimed Black people were better off in the era of Jim Crow, said the Civil Rights Act was a mistake, and promoted a book that called liberals ‘Unhumans,’” the letter stated.
“Ms. Attiah presented all of these well-supported opinions in precisely the manner The Post employed her to do – as an opinion journalist using social media to comment on critical issues of the day,” the letter continued, before suggesting her termination violates the collective bargaining agreement between the Post and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
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“We do not know yet whether The Post took this blatantly illegal action at the urging of Administration officials, although there is ample reason to ask the question. We intend to investigate the alternative as well – whether this action was taken in bad faith out of fear that the administration would take or threaten to take some action against the Post,” the letter said.
“Relevant to those determinations, The Post or its owner, Jeff Bezos, has been heavily criticized for transforming the publication and especially the editorial page in an attempt to find a way into the good graces of the Administration and for finding ways to put money into the Trump family’s pockets through Amazon,” the letter added. “The Post’s unlawful action against Ms. Attiah must, moreover, be viewed in the context of the intimidation campaign President Trump and his administration have waged to silence those who criticize him and the actions and policies of his Administration.”
The letter declared the Post “had no grounds to terminate” Attiah and said she is “now a victim.”
“In sum, beyond the violation of the CBA, The Post’s silencing of its only Black female opinion writer raises many deeply troubling issues, including under the First Amendment, other legal authorities, and other matters of public policy,” the letter said.
“Please let us know if The Post wishes to discuss how to set these wrongs right,” it concluded. “If not, we intend to pursue all appropriate remedies for her sake, that of media freedom, and of our democracy itself.”
Former MSNBC host Katie Phang is among the lawyers representing Attiah.
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The Washington Post declined comment on personnel issues.
The Guild did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Post’s Policies and Standards includes a section on social media that reads, “Post journalists should ensure that their activity on social media platforms would not make reasonable people question their editorial independence, nor make reasonable people question The Post’s ability to cover issues fairly.”
Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
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