Company apologizes after Michigan employee refused to print a vigil poster featuring Charlie Kirk, calling it โpolitical propaganda.โ
Office Depot has fired an employee at its Portage, Michigan, store after the worker refused to print a poster for a vigil honoring conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated this week while speaking at Utah Valley University.
The company announced the dismissal in a statement on Sept. 13, expressing regret over what it called โunacceptable and insensitiveโ conduct that violated company policy.
To our customers pic.twitter.com/XYlcFPpInN
— Office Depot (@officedepot) September 13, 2025
Office Depot said it had apologized to the customer, launched an internal review, and reinforced training to ensure โrespect, integrity, and customer service are upheld at every location.โ
The incident came to light in a video posted online by attorney and GOP activist Matthew DePerno, who said that the Kalamazoo County Republican Party ordered the poster, but when picking it up, an Office Depot staff member said they would not print it because it was โpolitical propaganda.โ
Today at 2:24 PM, the Kalamazoo County Republican Party #KGOP placed an order for a poster of #CharlieKirk for a vigil tonight. At 5:30 "Beryl" the print supervisor (guy on left) called and said they are refusing to print the poster because it is "propaganda." Hey @officedepotโฆ pic.twitter.com/pKHAQ2OQda
— Matthew S. DePerno, Esq. (@mdeperno) September 12, 2025
In the video, the employeeโwho identified as the manager on dutyโsaid, โWe donโt print political propaganda.โ When pressed on what specifically made the poster political, the manager replied, โBecause heโs a political figure and I donโt have to.โ
DePerno later said the group went to FedEx, where staff printed the poster free of charge.
Michigan Republicans reacted to the incident, with Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) calling the refusal โshameful,โ writing on X that the poster order was paid for and that the only reason that it was rejected was โbecause it was in memory of Charlie Kirk.โ
It is absolutely shameful that @OfficeDepot in Portage refused to print this poster for the vigil tonight at Bronson Park in Kalamazoo. These individuals paid for the work to be done and the employees appear to have refused to do it because it was in memory of Charlie Kirk. https://t.co/dqG6kl2zYu
— Bill Huizenga (@billhuizenga) September 13, 2025
Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, a Republican, also weighed in, praising Office Depot for firing the individual who refused to print the poster, which was intended for an event at Bronson Park in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday evening.
FIRED! https://t.co/xqXdf6oEqg pic.twitter.com/XGpTIlDBTl
— Aric Nesbitt (@aricnesbitt) September 13, 2025
By Tom Ozimek