Arizona school district denies that its teachers’ bloody costumes mocked Charlie Kirk

PHOENIX – Some Arizona math teachers found themselves at the center of a controversy over the weekend after their Halloween costumes were construed as mocking Charlie Kirk’s death.

The Vail School District denied that the costumes had anything to do with Kirk, the Phoenix-based conservative activist who was killed by a gunman during an event hosted by his Turning Point USA group in Utah on Sept. 10 of this year.

The teachers from Cienega High School in Vail, southeast of Tucson, wore the same white T-shirts with blood-like red stains and the words “Problem Solved” for Halloween in 2024, the district said.

But a new group photo posted — and since deleted — by the district on social media already had caused an uproar, with community members, politicians and online influencers accusing the teachers of making fun of Kirk and calling for them to be fired.

Over the weekend, bad-faith actors mobilized an online mob against educators in the Vail School District.

We are horrified by the death threats that followed, and we urge law enforcement to protect the Vail community. Vail educators deserve privacy and grace during this time. pic.twitter.com/skszBObzOH

— Arizona Education Association 🍎🏫 (@ArizonaEA) November 3, 2025

The Arizona Education Association said the teachers have received death threats as a result of the allegations.

“Over the weekend, bad-faith actors mobilized an online mob against educators in the Vail School District. We are horrified by the death threats that followed, and we urge law enforcement to protect the Vail community. Vail educators deserve privacy and grace during this time,” the state’s largest teachers union said in a statement on Monday.

District official says ‘Problem Solved’ shirts referred to math

District Superintendent John Carruth denied any connection to Kirk in a statement on Facebook that was later deleted.

“These shirts were worn both this and last year as part of math-themed Halloween costumes and were not intended as a reference to any person, event or political issue,” Carruth wrote, according to screenshots of the statement circulating on social media.

Carruth also sent community members an email on the matter, according to Tucson.com, the website for the Arizona Daily Star newspaper.

“The teachers involved care deeply about their students and this community,” the email reportedly says. “Many have served Vail families for years. All of them are committed to protecting children, and none of them would intentionally cause hurt or pain. They too are truly sorry that this has caused concerns. The shirts will not be worn again. We appreciate the opportunity to learn from this experience and ask for your grace as we do so.”

Associates of Charlie Kirk, politicians, influencers react to photo

Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point USA spokesman, posted the controversial photo to X on Saturday, saying it was flagged by concerned parents, and called for the teachers to be fired. The post was approaching 10 million views by midday Monday.

The story was amplified by multiple Republican politicians, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Utah U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, as well as right wing influencers such as Benny Johnson and Riley Gaines. State Rep. Rachel Keshel and Sen. Jake Hoffman were among the Arizona politicians who chimed in.

Kolvet later acknowledged that the costumes weren’t new this year in an X post with over 3 million views as of Monday morning, but he wasn’t ready to let all teachers off the hook.

UPDATE: Vail Schools said these math teachers wore the same costume last year. I was waiting for confirmation, and it appears they did. I am updating the thread with the image. We've seen enough evil since Charlie's murder that I'd actually be relieved if this isn't another… https://t.co/pXjYiqofep pic.twitter.com/viQJYBsbIZ

— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) November 1, 2025

“We’ve seen enough evil since Charlie’s murder that I’d actually be relieved if this isn’t another example,” Kolvet wrote in a post that included the 2024 photo. “That being said, it’s a very weird constume (sic) for teachers in general, but after what happened to Charlie, I’m absolutely floored they wore it again. I do not believe for a second that all of them are innocent. Some probably are (and it’s for their sake that I’m updating this thread) but I believe others knew exactly what they were doing.”

Blake Neff, a producer for “The Charlie Kirk Show,” deleted his initial reaction posts on X after learning about the 2024 photo and explained why in a later post.

“The visual of the shirts was so incredibly evocative of recent events that I found it totally implausible they didn’t know what they were doing, but especially with evidence they’ve worn them before I realize that is at best a very unprovable assertion about people’s inner mental state,” Neff wrote. “And of course, as someone extremely close to those events I must recognize I’m far more primed to see references to them than others are.”

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