Office Depot Fires Worker Who Refused To Print Charlie Kirk Vigil Poster

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

Office Depot has fired an employee at its Portage, Michigan, store after the worker refused to print a poster for a vigil honoring conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated this week while speaking at Utah Valley University.

The company announced the dismissal in a statement on Sept. 13, expressing regret over what it called “unacceptable and insensitive” conduct that violated company policy.

Office Depot said it had apologized to the customer, launched an internal review, and reinforced training to ensure “respect, integrity, and customer service are upheld at every location.”

The incident came to light in a video posted online by attorney and GOP activist Matthew DePerno, who said that the Kalamazoo County Republican Party ordered the poster, but when picking it up, an Office Depot staff member said they would not print it because it was “political propaganda.”

In the video, the employee—who identified as the manager on duty—said, “We don’t print political propaganda.” When pressed on what specifically made the poster political, the manager replied, “Because he’s a political figure and I don’t have to.”

Today at 2:24 PM, the Kalamazoo County Republican Party #KGOP placed an order for a poster of #CharlieKirk for a vigil tonight. At 5:30 „Beryl” the print supervisor (guy on left) called and said they are refusing to print the poster because it is „propaganda.” Hey @officedepot… pic.twitter.com/pKHAQ2OQda

— Matthew S. DePerno, Esq. (@mdeperno) September 12, 2025

DePerno later said the group went to FedEx, where staff printed the poster free of charge.

Michigan Republicans reacted to the incident, with Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) calling the refusal “shameful,” writing on X that the poster order was paid for and that the only reason that it was rejected was “because it was in memory of Charlie Kirk.”

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, a Republican, also weighed in, praising Office Depot for firing the individual who refused to print the poster, which was intended for an event at Bronson Park in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday evening.

Assassination of Kirk

Kirk’s death has sparked memorials across the country, as well as an outpouring of condemnation of political violence.

Kirk, 31, was the founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent conservative voice on college campuses. He was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10. A suspect, Tyler Robinson, has been arrested. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive in the attack.

The killing has prompted condemnation across the political spectrum and around the world. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) called it “an attack on the American experiment,” warning that violence aimed at silencing speech threatens the nation’s very identity.

“It is an attack on all of us,” Cox said at a Sept. 12 press conference. “It is an attack on our ideals.”

In Washington, a group of House Republicans is pressing congressional leaders to create a select committee to investigate what they describe as “a coordinated assault by the radical left on the rule of law.”

In a Sept. 11 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and more than a dozen colleagues urged a probe into the “money, influence, and power” behind political violence.

“The patterns are undeniable: we are witnessing a sustained breakdown of law and order, fueled not by chance, but by anti-American ideology,” the lawmakers wrote.

They called for a committee with subpoena power to trace funding networks tied to nongovernmental organizations, donors, media outlets, and public officials.

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