Secret Service employee on leave after celebrating Kirk assassination
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Suspected Charlie Kirk assassin identified as Tyler Robinson
Fox News' CB Cotton provides details on the identification of the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk in Utah Wednesday.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!A Secret Service employee was placed on immediate leave after celebrating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's assassination in a social media post, Fox News Digital confirmed.
"The U.S. Secret Service will not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct. This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun," a U.S. Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday afternoon when asked about the employment status of Anthony Pough.
Pough had celebrated Kirk's shocking assassination in a Facebook post, which included accusing the slain conservative firebrand of spewing "racism."
"If you are Mourning [sic] this guy .. delete me. He spewed hate and racism on his show," he wrote, according to Real Clear Politics, which first reported on Pough's post on Thursday.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: TIMELINE OF UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING DETAILS ATTACK, MANHUNT FOR SUSPECT
Memorials honoring Charlie Kirk have been held across the country and overseas, including in Berlin. Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025. ( Ilkin Eskipehlivan /Anadolu via Getty Images)
"Especially when we should be mourning the innocent children killed in Colorado," he continued, referring to the Evergreen High School shooting that left two students injured Wednesday.
A U.S. Secret Service agent prepares for the arrival of President Donald Trump to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2025, in New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Real Clear Politics reported Pough was in "Phase 2" of his career with the agency but had not yet been assigned a detail regularly protecting President Donald Trump. The Secret Service has three phases for special agents, with Phase 2 focused on protective assignments and Phase 3 focused on "post-protective field, protection, or headquarters assignment," according to the Secret Service's website.
Pough blamed "karma" for Kirk's assassination in the inflammatory Facebook post.
Arizonans mourn Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA headquarters Sept. 12, 2025, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
"At the end of the day, you answer to GOD and speak things into existence. You can only circumvent karma, she doesnt [sic] leave," he wrote.
Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn called for the Secret Service employee's immediate termination in a letter to Secret Service Director Sean Curran on Thursday.
"As our nation mourns the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, a rogue @SecretService agent posted on Facebook suggesting that he deserved to be murdered. I am calling for this agent’s immediate termination. It's time to root out the rot in the Secret Service," she posted to X, accompanied by a screenshot of her letter to Curran.
Pough could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kirk was attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon when a single shot rang out and struck Kirk in the neck. He was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead just hours later.
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Kirk, as well as their two children, ages 1 and 3. The Kirks married in 2021.
Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance accompanied Kirk's casket back to Arizona, where he resided with his family, on Thursday via Air Force Two.
(责任编辑：综合)
