The chairman of the Farmington Board of Education is under fire for a post that appeared on his Facebook page saying “They reap what they sow.” The post, apparently referring to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is reposted from another account.

Bill Beckert, an attorney who has served on the board of education for decades, has denied posting the sentiment.

“It appears something appeared on my page that I did not create,” he posted on the same account. “I have no idea how it got there, but its possible I may have mistakenly shared a post that someone who I do not agree with on this subject made when I was scrolling. I was made aware of it and I immediately deleted it. It was gross and it in no way reflects how I feel about recent events in our country.”

In local Facebook groups, many called for Beckert to step down from his role or be removed. His wife responded to numerous comments, saying Beckert hadn’t made the post and that the town knows his character as someone who would not post such a thing. She included screenshots of his Facebook activity history in which the post is not present.

Some friends and supporters agreed the post was out of character and said they knew Beckert wouldn’t have made the post.

The Farmington Republican Town Committee, without naming him referred to the controversy and called for candidates to tone down political rhetoric and focus on local issues.

“We should all be doing what we can to take the temperature down and see one another as people and not be blindsided by ideology,” Farmington Republicans posted. “We appreciate that the person who shared this divisive post has made the right decision to take it down and renounced its message. In light of this post and recent events, we are calling on all candidates to tone down rhetoric, stick to issues that affect Farmington and leave divisive national politics out of our discourse. We are all volunteers who love Unionville and Farmington, we are all working towards the betterment of our community. Let’s remember that we’re all people.”

But Connecticut Republican Party Chairman issued a scathing release condemning Beckert.

“As the official responsible for the education of Farmington’s children, you’d expect Mr. Beckert to show restraint and basic decency,” Proto said in part. “Instead, he celebrated the brutal murder of a young husband and father of two, whose only ‘crime’ was having an opinion. That is grotesque. It is a betrayal of the values every educator and public servant should embody.”

The incident is one of thousands playing out across the country following Kirk’s shooting while speaking at Utah Valley University Wednesday. His killing was immediately condemned by countless politicians from both political parties, including those who has been victims of political violence in the past.

Conservatives are searching for and publicizing social media posts they believe celebrate Kirk’s death and calling for those who made them to be fired or investigated. The right-wing troll site Libs of TikTok has shared dozens, including a local Democratic town committee from Connecticut.

The shooting follows a wave of recent political violence including in June, when Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered at home in June while Sen. John Hoffman and his wife survived; in April, when Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house was set on fire while he and his family slept inside; two attempts on President Donald Trump’s life, a shooting at the CDC and others.

In Simsbury, a post on the social media platform Bluesky, under the name of the Simsbury Democratic Town Committee, echoed the sentiment that Kirk “got what he deserved.” The posting account, Democrats say, is one of many fake accounts that have trolled the local party over the past several years. But still, local Democrats faced a wave of hateful and threatening messages.

Trump immediately condemned Kirk’s murder and blamed Democrats, as did several Republican officials, before 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a white man from a Republican family, was arrested in Kirk’s killing.

Trump has also blamed political rhetoric for Kirk’s murder, saying on Truth Social, “Violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree – day after day, year after year – in the most hateful and despicable way possible.”

Beckert, reached by phone, referred to a Facebook post Saturday morning.

“As the chairs of the Connecticut Republican and Democratic parties said this week, political violence is never the answer and we must work to lower the temperature. The tragic and abhorrent killing of Charlie Kirk should be a moment of reflection for all elected and community leaders to foster more civil engagement,” Beckert wrote, again denying that he was responsible for the “offensive post.”

https://www.courant.com/2025/09/13/ct-school-board-chair-under-fire-for-social-post-on-charlie-kirk/