Rail Against ‘Abhorrent’ Cartoon Published in Last Weekend’s Issue
By Hank Russell
Conservative activists from such groups as Moms for Liberty and Long Island Loud Majority held a rally in front of Newsday’s headquarters in Melville on September 20 to call on the newspaper for “free and fair” coverage after the publication ran a cartoon last week that, the protestors said, mocked the death of Charlie Kirk.
There was a police presence at the rally, which was peaceful. People held up signs praising Kirk and condemning the Newsday cartoon and waving American flags.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Newsday apologized to its readers for publishing a graphic cartoon that detractors said mocked the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10. Police arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, for Kirk’s murder.
In the September 13 edition of the paper, the cartoon, illustrated by Chip Bok, showed a blood-stained wall under a tent with Kirk’s name on it and the phrase “Prove Me Wrong.” An arrow is pointing to the chair with the words “Turning Point USA,” the name of the organization Kirk co-founded.
“When this came out on [September 13], my phone blew up,” said Moms for Liberty’s Teresa Helfrich told LILP. “Everybody was so upset and they wanted to take action. So we facilitated this rally so people can express their First Amendment rights and air their grievances with Newsday.” She said the cartoon was “the catalyst” for the rally.”
Helfrich called the cartoon “distasteful.” Carmine James, a self-described “concerned citizen,” added that the “blood-stained wall” in the cartoon was unnecessary; rather, the cartoonist should have labeled the microphone and the chair “speechless,” similar to the cartoon when Bugs Bunny creator Mel Blanc passed away.
“It would have been respectful,” James said. “It would have been beautiful.”
Newsday posted a letter of apology from the leadership team on its social media pages. “They’re saying, ‘That’s a cartoon that came from another gentleman [Chip Bok] that came from another region’; they issued an apology,” Helfrich explained. “I told them that apology was bulls–t. Newsday was sorry for the backlash; they weren’t sorry they printed it.”
If they were sincere about their apology, Helfrich said, “they would’ve printed it on the front page.”
Helfrich addressed the rallygoers, telling them to “step up right now,” adding, “If we step up and use our voices boldly, they can’t kill us all, they can’t silenc us all. This, to me, is a crucia; moment in time to do that.”
She also addressed the newspaper. “We support you. We want you to thrive,” she said. But we want a free and fair press. We just want our voices to be heard. … But we are done with you. We are absolutely done with the fake news and the rhetoric and the lies and deceit, We are not going away. If this continues, we will keep coming back.“
James Justice, who livestreamed the rally for UCNY News and is the host of the Know Your Enemies podcast, told those in attendance, “This is a very big turning point in our country.” He lashed out at Newsday and “the fakestream media broadcasters” for “put[ting] out divisive material and we, the American people, are not going to take it anymore.”
“We’re tired of being slandered by the American people,” Justice continued. “We’re tired of being called ‘fascists.’ ‘Nazis’ and every other name under the sun that you guys can publish. … Charlie Kirk was one of the greatest minds on this planet and you guys made funof his death.”
“What that cartoon that Newsday posted did was it mocked my faith,” Shannon Stephens, who primaried Andrew Garbarino in the race for Congress, said. “It mocked the man I believed in and who dared to speak the truth. He was killed for having a conversation. There’s going to be a million more Chrlie Kirks that wil follow in his footsteps. I believe Charlie Kirk will do more with wings than he ever did with a table and a stool.”
Greg Hach, a resident of Oyster Bay, also condemned Newsday’s printing of the cartoon. “Newsday did something abhorrent when half the country is hurting,” he said. “They’re wrong.”
He added that there should be open discourse. “One of my favorite quotes is from [Voltaire biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall]: ‘I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death with your right to say it.’”
Helfrich said, despite the cartoon, Kirk’s legacy will live on. “Charlie Kirk was 31 when he died, and, if you see what is happening around the world right now, his imprint is going to be greater after his death for generations to come.”
LILP reached out to Newsday for comment, but did not respond as of press time.