An East Lancashire councillor will not face criminal charges over a social media comment she posted about the shooting of American right-wing figure Charlie Kirk.
On Thursday, Burnley’s Cllr Fiona Wild quit after her remarks on Facebook about the death of the 31-year-old father of two, who was shot dead during a political debate at Utah Valley University.
In the now deleted post, Ms Wild said: “I don’t condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this upon himself, so good riddance to a not very nice man!
“America needs to get rid of the other t*t now.”
Lancashire Constabulary confirmed that members of the public contacted them about the comments, but the force was content that no criminal offence had taken place.
Burnley Council Conservative group leader, Cllr Jamie McGowan, demanded she stand down after the comments and also lodged an official complaint to see if she had breached the authority’s code of conduct.
Cllr McGowan said: "I think that what Fiona Wild forgets is that two small children have woken up without their daddy this morning, because of nothing more than his political beliefs.
“It’s such a disgusting thing to say, which shows a nasty side I didn’t know she had.
"I think many will expect a full public apology.
“But all I can say is, good riddance to a not very nice woman."
The wheels are now in motion for what is set to be a hotly contested local authority by-election, as Reform and the Greens have both said that they will be fielding a candidate.
Mr Kirk was a close ally of US President Donald Trump and was credited with helping turn out the youth vote for him during his successful re-election campaign.
President Trump said on his Truth Social channel: "This is a dark moment for America.”
A by-election for Ms Wild's post is expected to be held in due course.
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