A video of a school nurse cheering the murder of a conservative activist went viral.
The clip spread fast, the outrage spread faster, and the school district’s response left a lot of people unsatisfied.
And the Lake Washington School District launched a review after a nurse allegedly said “Thank God he’s dead” about Charlie Kirk — then quietly reminded everyone that employees have rights too.
What Happened at the Farmers Market in Issaquah
In the video shared on X by the account Right Angle News Network, a woman identified in the post as a nurse at Eastlake High School named Kelsey Ballin allegedly says, “Oh my God, thank God he’s dead, bye,” after someone else references Charlie Kirk.
She also appears to mockingly blow a kiss, stick out her tongue and give the finger during the incident, which reportedly took place at a farmer’s market. Other people in the video were wearing Kirk “Freedom” T-shirts during the incident.
Ballin, who works at Eastlake High School, allegedly confronted a couple wearing Kirk merch, mocked their Christian faith, and called them “maggots.” The video spread quickly across social media platforms, drawing hundreds of thousands of views and a wave of community complaints directed straight at the school district.
Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University during his American Comeback Tour. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested on suspicion of killing Kirk.
Eastlake High School is part of the Lake Washington School District, located in Sammamish, Washington, and serves grades 9 through 12. That means Ballin, as the school nurse, would have regular one-on-one contact with students — including, presumably, students whose families hold conservative views.
The District’s Response Raised More Questions Than It Answered
“Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is aware of a video circulating on social media involving a district staff member,” a spokesperson for the school district told Fox News Digital. “We have received concerns from community members regarding the statements and conduct shown in the video.”
The spokesperson continued: “While we cannot comment on individual personnel matters, district leadership has initiated a review of the circumstances surrounding this incident and will follow established processes as the review moves forward.”
The district added that it expects “all employees to uphold the professional standards and the values of the district and to contribute to a culture of respect, dignity and civil discourse.”
And then came the part that caught a lot of people’s attention.
“At the same time, district employees retain rights and protections as private citizens. Balancing these principles is central to how the district approaches situations like this one.”
That line landed like a warning shot. The district was essentially signaling that a nurse who allegedly cheered an assassination and berated grieving Kirk supporters at a public market might be protected from serious consequences. Parents in the community noticed.
This Is Bigger Than One Nurse in Washington State
The Lake Washington incident is one piece of a much larger pattern that emerged in the days after Kirk’s murder. More than three dozen professors, teachers, and school staffers have left or been removed over allegations they made disparaging or mocking comments about Charlie Kirk.
House Education and Workforce Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) told Fox News Digital that too many students are being “indoctrinated to hate those they disagree with instead of thoughtfully engaging with peers to discuss differences.” “We should not teach kids what to think, but how to think,” he said.
Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said there is a “clear lesson” over educators and others losing jobs for “vile” public comments about Charlie Kirk. “If your first reaction to a hate-fueled assassination is more hatred, ask yourself if you should put your phone down. Cruelty in response to tragedy only serves to divide us further,” Cassidy said.
State officials weighed in as well, with the Florida Department of Education sending a memo to school district superintendents threatening investigation and disciplinary action against educators who commented on Kirk’s death in a manner it deemed inappropriate. “It has been brought to my attention that some Florida educators have posted despicable comments on social media regarding the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk,” said the memo, signed by Florida education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas. “I will be conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior.”
In the days after Kirk was shot, Vice President JD Vance and other top Republicans urged citizens to report people who mock Kirk’s assassination to their employers. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told Fox News that she’d “like to see more” college faculty who celebrate Kirk’s death fired or suspended.
None of that national pressure appears to have moved the Lake Washington School District off its carefully hedged position.
The school district’s statement about balancing “professional standards” with employee rights as “private citizens” reads like it was drafted by someone more worried about a union grievance than about the parents of kids who sit in that nurse’s office. A nurse holds a position of trust. Students go to her when they’re sick, scared, or hurt. The idea that a school nurse who allegedly celebrated a political assassination and mocked Christians at a public market is still weighing her “rights as a private citizen” while employed in that role should trouble every parent in that district, regardless of their politics.
But the district’s hedging also points to something worth naming plainly: government schools across the country have spent years tolerating a level of political hostility toward conservative students, parents, and values that would not survive one news cycle if the ideological shoe were on the other foot. Imagine the response if a school nurse had been filmed cheering the death of a left-wing activist while mocking the faith of progressive shoppers. The review would have been over before the video stopped loading.
“Charlie inspired thousands of students to speak their minds, ask difficult questions, and engage in meaningful conversations — regardless of political affiliation,” Walberg said. The educators celebrating his murder are doing the opposite of what they claim to stand for. They are teaching kids, by example, that political violence against people you disagree with is something to cheer.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ballin for comment. No response was reported at the time of publication.
The Lake Washington School District’s review is ongoing. Whether it produces any real accountability — or quietly disappears into the “established processes” the district mentioned — remains to be seen.
Sources: Fox News Digital; Right Angle News Network (X); KVI Radio/Ari Hoffman (X); Fox News (Tim Walberg, Bill Cassidy statements)