A Florida councilman is refusing to resign following a slew of backlash after he called Charlie Kirk’s assassination ‘a fitting sacrifice’.
Steve Cody, who sits on the Palmetto Bay Village Council, sparked fury with a Facebook post declaring: ‘Charlie Kirk is a fitting sacrifice to our Lords: Smith & Wesson. Hallowed be their names.’
The post included a graphic of Kirk’s 2023 comments defending gun rights even at the cost of ‘some gun deaths’.
Cody’s post has since been deleted.
The councilman’s remarks prompted widespread calls for his resignation from local residents as well as lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle.
Despite the uproar, Cody is standing firm. ‘I understand why they’re saying that, but that’s not something I’m going to do,’ he told NBC6 on Thursday.
The attorney and councilman admitted he regretted the post, calling it ‘insensitive,’ but maintained he will not bow to political pressure.
‘I will admit to you it was not well thought out,’ he said. ‘I regret it because it was insensitive. I do think there’s a certain bit of irony in it, but it caused a lot of pain for people I know and people that I respect, and I took it down.’
Councilman Steve Cody has sparked outrage in Palmetto Bay, Florida, after saying Charlie Kirk’s assassination was ‘a fitting sacrifice’
Steve Cody’s post (pictured) has since been deleted but calls continue to grow for his resignation
Charlie Kirk, 31, was assassinated Wednesday while speaking at a Turning Point USA rally at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah
In a new statement on Facebook, Cody said his anger over America’s gun violence epidemic drove him to make the post – but insisted it did not reflect his values.
‘I regrettably made a significant error in judgment… This action, born out of my deep anger and frustration with the now too common tragedy of gun violence, was misguided,’ he claimed.
On Thursday, Palmetto Bay Mayor Karyn Cunningham was joined by dozens of residents, state lawmakers and Florida’s attorney general for a rally outside city hall demanding Cody’s resignation.
‘Violence has no place in our community or in our nation, and words that seek to diminish or make light of such tragedy are equally harmful,’ Cunningham said.
‘The people of Palmetto Bay deserve leadership that reflects compassion, responsibility, and dignity in moments of crisis.’
She later told NBC6: ‘Do we condone celebrating the assassination of an activist or any individual, and the answer is a hard no. We sit up there making policy for our community. We need to make sure that the folks that are making policy are also supportive of community values.’
Republican state Rep. Omar Blanco also called on the lawmaker to stand down at the rally.
‘We know the words mentioned by councilman Cody are incorrect and are not reflective of this amazing community,’ Blanco said.
Tyler Robinson seen in his mugshot following his arrest over the shooting of Charlie Kirk
On social media, he added: ‘Celebrating something this horrific has no place in public service. The words used by Palmetto Bay Councilman Cody are appalling, disgraceful, and not reflective of the service and sacrifice we are sworn to uphold.’
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier joined the outrage in a post on X, writing: ‘If this Facebook post is legitimate, Steve Cody should resign from his position as a Palmetto Bay council member immediately.’
For now, however, Cody is refusing. ‘I wouldn’t have done that. I regret it, but the best I can do is apologize to those who I hurt and vow to go forward and behave differently from this point on,’ he said.
Mayor Cunningham acknowledged that the village council does not have the power to remove him and that only state officials in Tallahassee could intervene.
She said she will formally request Cody step down at next week’s council meeting.
The Republican Party of Miami-Dade County is also expected to head to City Hall on Friday to call for his resignation.
Kirk, 31, was shot dead while speaking in front of around 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.
The MAGA influencer had just taken a question about mass shootings and gun violence when a single shot was fired from the roof of the Losee Center – around located 200 yards away.
Kirk was struck in the neck – sending him toppling over in his chair.
Councilman Steve Cody later admitted the post was ‘insensitive’ but is refusing to resign
Protesters gathered outside Palmetto Bay Village Hall demanding Cody’s resignation after his shocking Facebook post
Crowds fled the scene in terror while Kirk was rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
The suspected assassin, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody Thursday night following a tip-off by his family.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at a news conference on Friday that a family member of Robinson’s ‘reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident’.
Robinson’s family members told police the 22-year-old had become ‘more political in recent years’, Cox said.
They described incidents where Robinson had come to dinner and ‘mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU and mentioned why he didn’t like him’.
The family members said Robinson also stated that Kirk ‘was full of hate and spreading hate’.
Robinson’s roommate also directed officers to the suspect’s Discord platform.
The roommate said Robinson had messaged him asking to retrieve his rifle, wrapped in a towel in some bushes, Cox said.
The murder weapon – a high-powered, bolt-action rifle – was found by investigators in the woods close to UVU.
Unspent rounds found with the firearm had been engraved with bizarre messages including: ‘Hey Fascist! Catch!’, ‘If you read this you are Gay, LMAO’ and ‘Oh Bella ciao Bella ciao Bella ciao’.
Sources told the Daily Mail the 22-year-old had confessed to his father, Matt Robinson, that he was the shooter – who then tipped off law enforcement and secured his son until officers arrived.
The motive for the assassination remains unclear.
A spokesperson for Utah State University told the Daily Mail Robinson attended the college for one semester in 2021.
Robinson had been given a presidential scholarship to the sum of $32,000 to attend the school, according to a video posted on Facebook in March 2021. It is not clear why he then dropped out.
He lived with his family in a $600,000 six-bedroom home in Washington, Utah – about 260 miles south of the campus where Kirk was shot.
Social media accounts linked to the family show Robinson smiling on vacations, posing with his younger brothers, and being praised by his mother as her ‘genius’ son for getting into college.
His mother, Amber Robinson, works for Intermountain Support Coordination Services, a company contracted by the state to help disabled people access care.
Family posts also reveal he grew up around firearms, with photos showing him using an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun and receiving a gun kit for Christmas.
In another image from 2017, he wore a Donald Trump costume for Halloween.
