Arbitrator orders Washington Post to rehire columnist Karen Attiah

Aug. 24 (UPI) — An independent arbitrator ruled that The Washington Post must rehire columnist Karen Attiah after it fired her last year for online comments she made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Democracy Defenders Fund, which backed Attiah in the case alongside the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, announced the decision Monday.

“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. “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.”

The Post fired Attiah in September after she wrote two social media posts in response to the slaying of Kirk. She said she would not mourn the activist’s death.

Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was a controversial figure in U.S. politics, voicing support for the so-called White replacement conspiracy theory and opposing transgender rights. He was speaking on gun rights at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he was shot and killed.

Tyler Robinson was arrested and charged with aggravated murder and other charges for the killing.