Washington Post columnist rehired after being laid off for comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination

The Washington Post has been ordered by a private arbitrator to reinstate opinion columnist Karen Attiah with back pay, following her termination in September over social media posts concerning the hypothetical assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa ruled that the newspaper "did not have good and sufficient cause" for the dismissal and "violated" its labor agreement. Attiah had posted on Bluesky about Kirk's September 2025 assassination, referencing his past comments on Black women. The Post had cited violations of its social media policy, which mandates respectful online activity that does not undermine journalistic integrity. Attiah stated, "This decision confirms what we've said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct." This ruling comes amidst scrutiny of the Post's opinion section and recent layoffs.