The Simsbury Democratic Party is denying allegations that one of its members posted a celebratory message following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk Wednesday.
The post, allegedly by a BlueSky user called simsburydems.bsky.social, said “Charlie Kirk who advocates for guns everywhere, got exactly what he deserves.” That account does not appear to exist on the social media site. An account called simsburydtc.bsky.social does exist but has zero posts.
But the alleged post was reposted on X by the far-right conservative account Libs of TikTok, which since Kirk’s death has reposted politicians, academics and other people who commented with similar sentiment, calling for them to be fired from their jobs and tagging U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI for investigations into the individuals.
Libs of TikTok, which targets liberals and the LGBTQ+ community, has previously inspired doxxing, harassment and alleged bomb threats. On Wednesday evening, the group implied that liberals were “pure, deranged evil” and said “The media is evil.”
The Simsbury Democratic Town Committee’s account on Facebook posted that evening “Today we witnessed yet another instance of senseless gun violence. We need to come together to address these issues as a community. Our thoughts are with the grieving family.”
Comments on those Facebook accounts included “You all make me sick to my stomach” and “You are the party who created this.”
On X, a handful of comments threatened violence against the DTC and some criticized the town’s first selectman, a Democrat.
A message seeking comment was sent to the Simsbury Democratic Town Committee.
As criticism regarding the BlueSky post intensified, another Facebook post from Simsbury Democrats followed saying, “It is unfortunate that today’s events have been politicized by trolls creating and spreading blatant, insidious lies, inciting further division in a deeply fractured climate. We have tolerated this tactical diversion from addressing the actual issues clearly impacting our culture to this point, but we can no longer remain silent as trolls continue to fan the flames. The messages and comments we have received are reprehensible. There is no excuse to incite hatred against your neighbors during these fraught times.”
Comments in the previous post claim the BlueSky account that posted about Kirk was a fake troll account and that the town committee has long been plagued by a fake account.
“The Bluesky post that has been shared all over social media was not posted by this account, the Simsbury DTC or anyone associated with the Simsbury Democratic Town Committee. We do not know WHO made that account and posted that disgusting and vile comment. We wish we did. It is horrible and hurtful and we condemn the post but more importantly condemn the horrific violence that tragically took a life today. … Violence should never be celebrated or cheered,” it said.
The exchange, with the Simsbury DTC, and now thousands of accusers adding their condemnation of the group on social media, comes as the country examines the cost of inflammatory rhetoric amid deep political division and an epidemic of gun violence.
