A social media post by a Jacksonville resident regarding the tragic death of Charlie Kirk brought a swift reaction, including a call to remove him from a city government position.
Dozens of people posted comments condemning the comment by Leofric Thomas, Jr., which accused Kirk of spreading hate and indicated that Kirk deserved to die.
Kirk was shot and killed during an appearance in Utah yesterday.
Thomas posted on X: “When you spew hate, it’s what you get back. Charlie spewed nothing but hate, so what he got back, was …. Yeah.”
Here is an example of Kirk in a discussion with a student. Does it sound like “hate”?
In late 2024, Thomas was the keynote speaker for Mayor Donna Deegan’s “River City Readers” program, a local event focused on literacy.
In January, the council president appointed Thomas to the Public Service Grant Council. The appointment was confirmed by the City Council in February.
Thomas is from Virginia and graduated from Bethune-Cookman University. He once worked for U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, according to his bio. He founded the nonprofit The Straight & Narrow Project, which has mentored thousands of students and provided scholarships.
Thomas currently is the data and policy director of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund (JPEF), which has been Duval County’s high-performing local education fund since Jan. 1, 2009.
“JPEF condemns political violence, or anything that suggests support for it,” Kevin Hyde, chairman of the fund’s board, said.
A spokesman for the fund told Eye on Jacksonville: “An employee replied to a social media post from their personal account in a manner inconsistent with our values and code of conduct. The employee has removed the reply, and we are addressing the matter through our disciplinary process. We unequivocally condemn violence and offer our deepest condolences to Mr. Kirk’s family. We will continue to encourage respectful, empathetic dialogue across differing viewpoints.”
City Council Member Rory Diamond re-posted the Thomas X post on Facebook and said: “Calling on my council colleagues to swiftly remove Leofric Thomas, Jr. as an appointee to our city government.
“Disgusting. “
Eye emailed Thomas for a comment but did not receive a response before publication.
