*Karen Attiah, a longtime opinion columnist at The Washington Post, is getting her job back after an independent arbitrator ruled the newspaper wrongfully fired her last year, The Hill reports.
The Post terminated Attiah on September 11, 2025, one day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a Utah college campus. Her termination letter cited two posts she published on Bluesky that day. In one, she wrote, “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.”
In the other, she posted, “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.”
The Post called the posts “unacceptable” and accused Attiah of “gross misconduct,” claiming she violated the company’s social media policy and endangered colleagues’ safety.
Scroll to continue reading
Arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa disagreed. She ruled the Post “failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct,” finding the posts did not disparage white men or any group based on race or gender. She also rejected the Post’s claim that the posts threatened staff safety, and determined the company lacked “good and sufficient cause” to fire Attiah, violating its union contract in the process.
Espinosa ordered Attiah reinstated with back pay covering the time since her firing.
Attiah said the ruling confirmed she had been doing her job as an opinion journalist, expressing relief after more than a decade at the paper covering race, gender and global human rights.
“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,” Attiah said in a statement issued through her attorney. “After spending over a decade of my career at the Post as an editor and an opinion columnist focusing on race, gender and global human rights, I’m relieved to finally have that record set straight.”
A Post spokesperson said the company respects the arbitration process.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Washington Post Fires Columnist Karen Attiah Over Social Media Posts After Charlie Kirk’s Killing
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
