Former CNBC senior editor Jim Pavia said he didn’t know that conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk had been pronounced dead after being shot on a college campus when he made comments on Facebook that pulled a potential employer, MarketCounsel Consulting, into a social media firestorm.
Pavia said he posted on Facebook on Sept. 10 shortly after the shooting but before Kirk was declared dead, asking “how does Kirk feel about guns now,” which a conservative activist later flagged and circulated. MarketCounsel was also identified, referring to reports that Pavia had taken a job with the well-known legal consulting firm in the independent financial advisor space.
After the comments gained traction online, MarketCounsel sent a statement Friday defending itself and saying that Pavia had been offered a job but never worked for the firm.
On Tuesday, Pavia released a follow-up explaining his post, apologizing for his further comments about President Donald Trump, and clarifying that he had worked for a time at MarketCounsel but had left before the incident.
“I was in a personal Facebook chat when I commented, ‘how does Kirk feel about guns now.’ I wrote this BEFORE I learned that he had been killed,” Pavia said in a post he also put up on LinkedIn. “My comment was meant to highlight the irony that a strong gun activist, who had once said that ‘gun deaths every single year are worth it to protect our Second Amendment rights,’ had been shot.”
Related:MarketCounsel Pulled into Social Media Fallout from Kirk Murder
Pavia noted that a cyber expert had advised him to deactivate his Twitter account due to the backlash. Ryan Fournier, national chairman of Students for Trump, called on people on social media to find and go after MarketCounsel clients. It’s part of a broader trend of individuals being targeted for posts about Kirk, including some who have been suspended or lost their jobs. Some activists even compiled examples onto a website, “Expose Charlie’s Murderers,” to help coordinate the campaign.
Fournier’s reposts did not include some follow-up comments in which Pavia explained he was being ironic.
“In that heated chat, I explained that my remark was about irony, not humor and certainly not celebration,” he wrote. “Some may take exception to my words, but I was not dancing on his grave or rejoicing in his death.”
In follow-up comments on the day of Kirk’s death, Pavia had also suggested that Trump was next in line for violence. He apologized for those remarks.
“I regret the separate comment I made about Trump,” he wrote. “It was ill-considered and does not reflect the standard I hold myself to. While I firmly believe history will judge his presidency critically, I want to be absolutely clear: I have never wished him harm, nor do I celebrate violence against anyone.”
Pavia also said he had worked for about two to three weeks at MarketCounsel, which is run by president and CEO Brian Hamburger, but that the two parties agreed “it was just not the right fit.”
Hamburger was directly involved in the social media backlash with links to his account. MarketCounsel issued a statement distancing itself from Pavia’s comments and condemning violence. A spokesperson also said that Pavia had been offered a job but never worked at the firm.
In response to Pavia’s latest post, the spokesperson said the firm stood by its original statement that it had not employed him.
Pavia, now retired from journalism, said the situation distorted his strong beliefs and focus during his career on defending free speech.
“What troubles me most is that this has become twisted into something it was not, and in doing so it has turned into an attack on the very freedom of speech and open debate that I have spent my life defending,” he wrote.
Ex-CNBC Editor Explains Kirk Social Media Comments
Former CNBC senior editor Jim Pavia said he didn’t know that conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk had been pronounced dead after being shot on a college campus when he made comments on Facebook that pulled a potential employer, MarketCounsel Consulting, into a social media firestorm.
Pavia said he posted on Facebook on Sept. 10 shortly after the shooting but before Kirk was declared dead, asking “how does Kirk feel about guns now,” which a conservative activist later flagged and circulated. MarketCounsel was also identified, referring to reports that Pavia had taken a job with the well-known legal consulting firm in the independent financial advisor space.
After the comments gained traction online, MarketCounsel sent a statement Friday defending itself and saying that Pavia had been offered a job but never worked for the firm.
On Tuesday, Pavia released a follow-up explaining his post, apologizing for his further comments about President Donald Trump, and clarifying that he had worked for a time at MarketCounsel but had left before the incident.
“I was in a personal Facebook chat when I commented, ‘how does Kirk feel about guns now.’ I wrote this BEFORE I learned that he had been killed,” Pavia said in a post he also put up on LinkedIn. “My comment was meant to highlight the irony that a strong gun activist, who had once said that ‘gun deaths every single year are worth it to protect our Second Amendment rights,’ had been shot.”
Related:MarketCounsel Pulled into Social Media Fallout from Kirk Murder
Pavia noted that a cyber expert had advised him to deactivate his Twitter account due to the backlash. Ryan Fournier, national chairman of Students for Trump, called on people on social media to find and go after MarketCounsel clients. It’s part of a broader trend of individuals being targeted for posts about Kirk, including some who have been suspended or lost their jobs. Some activists even compiled examples onto a website, “Expose Charlie’s Murderers,” to help coordinate the campaign.
Fournier’s reposts did not include some follow-up comments in which Pavia explained he was being ironic.
“In that heated chat, I explained that my remark was about irony, not humor and certainly not celebration,” he wrote. “Some may take exception to my words, but I was not dancing on his grave or rejoicing in his death.”
In follow-up comments on the day of Kirk’s death, Pavia had also suggested that Trump was next in line for violence. He apologized for those remarks.
“I regret the separate comment I made about Trump,” he wrote. “It was ill-considered and does not reflect the standard I hold myself to. While I firmly believe history will judge his presidency critically, I want to be absolutely clear: I have never wished him harm, nor do I celebrate violence against anyone.”
Pavia also said he had worked for about two to three weeks at MarketCounsel, which is run by president and CEO Brian Hamburger, but that the two parties agreed “it was just not the right fit.”
Hamburger was directly involved in the social media backlash with links to his account. MarketCounsel issued a statement distancing itself from Pavia’s comments and condemning violence. A spokesperson also said that Pavia had been offered a job but never worked at the firm.
In response to Pavia’s latest post, the spokesperson said the firm stood by its original statement that it had not employed him.
Pavia, now retired from journalism, said the situation distorted his strong beliefs and focus during his career on defending free speech.
“What troubles me most is that this has become twisted into something it was not, and in doing so it has turned into an attack on the very freedom of speech and open debate that I have spent my life defending,” he wrote.
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