"Many in the mainstream media have been fired or punished for mocking his assassination. I believe I am the first to be targeted for honoring him on air,” Illinois ABC affiliate Anchor Beni Rae Harmony wrote Monday, announcing her resignation over her on-air tribute to slain conservative Charlie Kirk.
“Effective immediately, I have resigned from @WICS_ABC20 after being SUSPENDED for airing a non-partisan tribute to Charlie Kirk this past Friday,” Harmony posted to her personal X.com account.
In her post, Harmony shared video of her tearful tribute while anchoring WICS’s “Marketplace,” in which she recalls that Kirk was her first boss and “the first person who made me believe in myself.”
“It’s okay, if you feel sadness. It’s okay if you’re grieving,” Harmony told her viewers, going on to explain how Kirk always stressed the importance of free speech and open debate. “Speak up for what you believe in – I don’t care what it is,” Harmony said.
Effective immediately, I have resigned from @WICS_ABC20 after being SUSPENDED for airing a non-partisan tribute to Charlie Kirk this past Friday.
— Beni Rae Harmony (@BeniRaeHarmony) September 15, 2025
Many in the mainstream media have been fired or punished for mocking his assassination. I believe I am the first to be targeted for… pic.twitter.com/y41QOWDBl5
It is uncertain whether Harmony’s suspension on Friday, which led to her resignation, was due to her praise of Kirk or a breach of employment requirements, such as failure to gain authorization to go off-topic to deliver a personal message.
In a separate post, Harmony says her resignation was “guided by values that are essential to who I am, to which I refuse to set aside, in order to keep a job” and that “I choose my faith, and love of country, and always will.”
WICS is not commenting on Harmony’s suspension and resignation, presumably because it is a personnel matter.
