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Residents criticize Aliso Viejo mayor's social post about Charlie Kirk; council responds
Summary
Multiple residents publicly criticized Mayor Ackley for sharing a Newsweek link about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, calling the timing and tone inappropriate; the mayor said she shared the link without added commentary and the council offered a range of responses from defense of free speech to calls for restraint.
Several residents used the city’s public comment period to criticize Mayor Ackley for a recent social media post that shared a national news item about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Sonia Tariske told the council she was “disturbed” by the mayor’s post and urged the mayor to consider stepping down, saying the post appeared to mock a recently deceased man. “To mock a dead man, that is disturbing,” she said.
Mayor Ackley replied that she had posted only a Newsweek link without any additional commentary and that she had since removed the post. “I posted a link to a Newsweek article. There was none of my own words,” she said when asked by the dais.
Other speakers framed the issue differently. Samuel Penron described the national trauma felt by some communities, urged focus on preventing violence, and said pursuing firings would not bring the dead back. Council members also weighed in: Council member Munzing offered a personal remembrance of Charlie Kirk while acknowledging strong emotions on both sides; Council member Hirt and others emphasized the importance of restraint in public rhetoric.
Council had previously considered and rejected a motion to add a proclamation regarding the assassination to the agenda earlier in the meeting. No formal discipline or resolution regarding the mayor was taken at this session.
What happens next: the matter remained in the public comment record; council members indicated differing personal positions but did not take formal disciplinary action at the meeting.
