NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The Adams administration fired senior City Hall aide Tony Herbert on Friday and denounced comments he made on social media that conservative activist Charlie Kirk “created or helped his own demise” after he was shot and killed while speaking at an event at a Utah college earlier this week.
“When you go out there and you talk about people and you talk about, you know, when you become a racist and you try to disguise that like you're doing something for humanity, that’s a problem,” Herbert said in a video posted to X.
A controversial figure, Kirk was known for his founding of one of the nation’s largest youth conservative groups Turning Point USA, which aims to share conservative values on college campuses. In his comments, Herbert was defending a meme he posted to social media in the wake of Kirk’s death that branded him a sexist and a racist.
“Unfortunately, karma has come to collect,” Herbert continued.
At the time of his firing, Herbert—a friend of Mayor Eric Adams and occasional political candidate—was on leave from his role in the Community Affairs Unit, which he joined in February 2022. It was not clear why Herbert was on leave.
“As Mayor Adams said yesterday, political violence has no place in our city or in our nation, and it’s time we all turn down the temperature and stand united against hate,” City Hall said in a statement. “Charlie Kirk was a passionate young man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this trying time.”
While in this position, Herbert did not report directly to Adams.
The mayor joined politicians from across the aisle in condemning political violence and sending well wishes to Kirk’s family following Wednesday’s shooting.
During a press conference on Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she would be convening officials from both parties next week for a security briefing and “candid conversation about how we can work together to turn down the temperature and prevent more violence.”
“We’re all Americans, and as broken as our nation can feel at times like this, I still believe to my core that the ties that bind us are much stronger than the forces that seek to tear us apart,” the governor said.