A Virginia school board member resigned following mounting criticism from state officials over a derogatory post she made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The Chesterfield County School Board announced it accepted the resignation letter from board member Dot Heffron, effective at the end of the year. Several state officials, such as Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican 2025 gubernatorial candidate, have called for Heffron’s immediate resignation. Youngkin called the board’s decision to “push off” her resignation date to Dec. 31 “beyond unacceptable.”
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Heffron said in an Instagram story post, “Call me old-fashioned, but I remember when we used to be OK with shooting Nazis,” following Kirk’s murder on Wednesday. Earle-Sears screenshotted Heffron’s post and condemned it on her social media pages shortly after.
Heffron is in her second term on the Chesterfield County School Board. She was originally elected to her position representing the Clover Hill District in 2019. Heffron’s current term expires on Dec. 31, 2027.
“The School Board will begin the process to appoint an interim School Board representative for the Clover Hill District until a special election can be held to fill the position for the remainder of Mrs. Heffron’s term,” the Chesterfield County School Board said in a statement.
Heffron endorsed former Democratic Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger for her 2025 gubernatorial bid in 2023. The Spanberger campaign posted an announcement of Heffron’s endorsement on her Instagram page in December 2023. Earle-Sears and the Republican Party of Virginia have called out Spanberger’s campaign for not taking down the post and for not renouncing Heffron’s endorsement.
When the Washington Examiner asked the Spanberger campaign for comment on Heffron’s endorsement, a spokesperson referred to Spanberger’s statement on Friday following Kirk’s assassination.
“I condemn any efforts to justify or minimize the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk or anyone else,” Spanberger wrote on X. “Disagreements over policy, perspectives, or even worldviews should never lead to violence. We are a nation of laws — and we have a First Amendment right to free speech, and that right is not limited just to those who agree with us. Justifying or making light of violence damages the core fabric of our society and imperils all of us as Americans, just as calls to violence and revenge do the same.”
The Chesterfield County School Board said in the statement regarding Heffron’s resignation that she and her family have received threats online and condemned threats of political violence.
“We must remember that our words carry weight, and they should be used to build trust, foster understanding, and model the respect we want our students to show one another. We must be better than the hatred we have witnessed over the last few days,” the board said.
In her resignation letter, Heffron said she “should have shown better judgment” and said “it was never my intention to make light of violence or to suggest that harm to anyone is ever acceptable,” according to local news outlet ABC8.
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Heffron’s resignation comes as part of a national wave of mounting resignation pressure on officials who have made derogatory comments about Kirk’s assassination.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) is one of several lawmakers who have called for consequences for those making such posts about Kirk. She said people spreading that type of rhetoric online “should be fired.”