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Washington Post ordered to rehire columnist
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Arbitrator ordered Washington Post to rehire columnist Karen Attiah with back pay. The ruling says firing over Charlie Kirk posts lacked cause.
Background
Karen Attiah, a Black opinion columnist at the Washington Post, was fired in September 2025 after posting about Charlie Kirk's assassination, including sharing his past racist comments. The Post cited gross misconduct and violation of social media policy. An arbitrator ruled the firing lacked cause and ordered reinstatement with back pay.
How it unfolded
- Sep 2025Karen Attiah fired from Washington Post after social media posts about Charlie Kirk's killing.
- Aug 20, 2026Arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa rules the Post lacked cause, orders reinstatement and back pay.
- Aug 24, 2026Decision announced publicly; Attiah and her lawyers celebrate the ruling.
Who’s saying what
- Arbitrator
- The Post did not have good and sufficient cause to terminate Attiah and violated its labor agreement.
- Attiah
- I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct.
- Attiah's lawyer
- The Post tried to pass off retaliation as discipline, but the rule of law has exposed it for what it truly is: wrongful termination.
Still unverified
None.