An independent councillor on Burnley Borough Council has resigned after posting 'good riddance' on social media following the death of American conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Wednesday while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Councillor Fiona Wild, who represented the Lanehead ward as an independent, posted an image of Kirk on Facebook with the caption 'good riddance'. In a now-deleted post, she wrote: 'I don’t condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this on himself so good riddance to not a very nice man!'
The leader of Burnley Council's Conservative group, Councillor Jamie McGowan, demanded she resign. Wild quit on Thursday afternoon. A council spokesperson confirmed her resignation, stating: 'Burnley Council does not condone the comments made in that post and has received complaints under the Code of Conduct for Members which will be investigated.'
Councillor McGowan said: 'I think that what Fiona Wild forgets is that two small children have woken up without their daddy this morning. It’s such a disgusting thing to say which shows a nasty side I didn’t know she had.' He added: 'All I can say is, good riddance to a not very nice woman.'
Kirk was a close ally of US President Donald Trump and credited with helping turn out the youth vote for his re-election. Trump reacted to Kirk's death, hailing him as 'great, and even legendary' and vowing a crackdown on 'political violence'.
