Idaho state employee fired after posts about Charlie Kirk. ‘What I feel to be the truth’

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Berriochoa admitted that his comments, which implied that Kirk was in hell, were “divisive and vitriolic,” but defended his First Amendment right, especially in light of recent backlash others have received over comments about the shooting.

When he saw social media posts circulating about him, instead of retreating — or apologizing — Berriochoa decided to go back online.

“I was fired from my state job for a comment on Instagram,” he said in a post on Reddit on Friday morning. “Ask me anything.” Reddit users quickly chimed in with questions about the content of the comments, whether he was sorry, and if he had contacted an attorney. Some were unsympathetic and to the point: “Good,” one read. Others criticized his remarks but wished him well. One asked him if he had any regrets. His answer: “Not even a little bit. It’s what I feel to be the truth and I will stand on that.”

Instagram comments precede state employee’s firing

Early Thursday morning, Berriochoa was scrolling through comments on an Idaho News 6 Instagram post about a fight at the Idaho Capitol during a vigil for Kirk. He decided to reply to others’ comments twice by implying that Kirk was in hell, and one of his comments included the laughing abbreviation, “LMAO.”

Then he went to work.

“I … didn’t think anything of it,” he told the Idaho Statesman in an interview. “Because, you know, it was a private Instagram account. It was in no way connected to my employment.”

Berriochoa, who grew up in Idaho, said he was generally careful about social media — keeping accounts private and not allowing strangers to follow him — because of online harassment he experienced while attending the University of Idaho.

Once at his office, where he did secretarial work as a “technical records specialist,” Berriochoa said, emails and calls started coming in.

He said he told his boss about the incoming messages, but still believed his job would be safe.

“I, in my day-to-day activities, interacted with people of all political walks of life, and I compose myself with poise,” he said. “In my professional capacity, I never, ever let my personal opinions influence my work decisions whatsoever.”

Over the course of the day, he said, the messages didn’t stop.

“Clearly, this is snowballing into something bigger,” he recalled.

That night, a friend reached out to him saying he was being “doxed” online, Berriochoa said. He found social media posts with screenshots of his comments and his employment information.

Two screenshots also circulated of Berriochoa’s private Instagram story, where he had insulted Kirk and implied his death was a “net positive” for society, while also denouncing other instances of violence, including school shootings.

On one post circulating Berriochoa’s comments, he said, an individual had commented his address.

That’s when he grew “anxious,” and eventually put his phone in airplane mode, turning off all notifications.

He woke up Friday morning to an email from the labor department informing him he had been fired.

Berriochoa said he was nearing completion of his six-month probationary period with the department.

A spokesperson for the labor department confirmed that, as of Friday, Berriochoa no longer works for the Human Rights Commission.

The commission “remains committed to maintaining the public’s trust and upholding its core value of fairness,” spokesperson Darlene Carnopis said by email.

The Human Rights Commission declined to comment when contacted by phone.

In an emailed statement, the Idaho Freedom Foundation called Berriochoa’s comments “evil.”

“A post on X was made compiling these comments alongside his LinkedIn account by a larger account, and reshared by multiple local accounts, including us, simply stating the facts,” the unsigned email to the Statesman said. “Both Berriochoa’s comments and his employer were publicly available for anyone to view and were posted by Berriochoa himself.

“We at the IFF believe state employees, whose salaries are paid by Idaho taxpayers, should not publicly celebrate, and thereby condone, political violence.”

‘Emblematic of the crossroads’ country is in

Berriochoa said he apologized to his coworkers for representing them poorly.

He maintains that he was acting in his individual capacity and did not deserve to be fired.

But while he’s “accepting that consequence,” he said, he also stands by his commentary. “I don’t believe that me saying Charlie Kirk is in hell is me celebrating his death,” he said. “I think that is a religious take based on the religion that Charlie is in, the religion that I am also a part of.”

Berriochoa said he wanted to take to Reddit because he was not the only person who had faced backlash for online comments.

“This whole situation is just really emblematic of the crossroads that we’re in as a country right now,” he said.

He said he reached out to the ACLU of Idaho and a Boise employment law firm.

West Ada employee, Radio Boise volunteer, also let go

On Friday afternoon, Radio Boise posted a statement on Instagram stating that it had removed a volunteer programmer from the station’s programming after they posted “inflammatory comments” on social media.

“We want to make it clear that these comments do not reflect the values or position of Radio Boise,” said the post, signed by General Manager Mark Shirrod.

The station stated that the volunteer acted without authorization and in direct violation of Radio Boise policies by making those comments on social media.

“While Radio Boise strongly supports free speech and diverse viewpoints, we do not condone inflammatory or violent rhetoric of any kind,” Shirrod said in the post.

Radio Boise did not immediately respond to a request from the Statesman attempting to confirm whether the comments were about Kirk’s death.

An employee of the West Ada School District, Idaho’s largest, was fired earlier in the week after she posted a video celebrating the shooting of Kirk while wearing a T-shirt representing Meridian High School.

A student-teacher at Lakevue Elementary School in the Vallivue School District resigned from their placement after making inflammatory comments regarding Kirk’s death.