U.S. private arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa ordered the Washington Post to re-employ opinion columnist Karen Attiah, whose job was terminated over her social media hot takes on Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September 2025.
Ms Espinosa on Thursday said The Post lacked “good and sufficient cause” to fire Ms Attiah, adding that the termination breached its labour agreement with the embattled employee.
At issue were Ms Attiah’s BlueSky Posts on September 10, 2025—the same day Mr Kirk was killed— when she reacted to the collective grief from conservatives and netizens following his passing.
“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,” Ms Attiah wrote in one of the posts on BlueSky.
The post was viewed as harmful to the newspaper’s integrity and as a violation of its social media policy, which required employees to use online platforms with civility. It ultimately led to her termination.
Ms Attiah disputed her termination as unlawful, arguing her social media posts were within her rights based on her job description as an opinion writer at The Post.
In her decision, Ms Espinosa ordered The Post to not only rehire Ms Attiah but also pay her the backlog of salaries since her termination in September 2025.
“The Washington Post failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct,” the New York Times cited the decision as saying.
Relieved, Ms Attiah said she hoped the case would encourage “journalists and media institutions everywhere that freedom of expression is always worth fighting for.”
She said the arbitrator’s decision appeared to support her argument that she was wrongfully terminated while doing her job.
“This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion writer, and this was wrongful termination,” Ms Attiah said.
The Post, according to The Times, said it respects the arbitration decision and offered no further comment.