City Director Replaced Over Cruel Charlie Kirk Death Comments

Springfield’s director of the Office of Information Systems, James “Jayme” Sullivan, is no longer employed by the City of Springfield following public backlash over social media comments he made after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah last week. City officials announced that Jay Underfanger will assume the role following Sullivan’s departure.

Screenshots of Sullivan’s Facebook activity circulated locally over the weekend. In one post reacting to praise for Kirk, Sullivan wrote: “This is the dick that spreads love? Lmao fucking loser look at him now! I am seeing all the maggots saying he spread love in his speeches!! No wonder Hillary called those idiots deplorable. Pathetic!” The same post included a graphic listing criticisms of Kirk’s public statements.

In a separate comment thread, Sullivan told a commenter, “I’m surprised you’re referring to the orange idiot as a president,” and he characterized Kirk’s “voice” as being “against women, Blacks and gay people.” (The latter characterization is referenced in the screenshots; portions of the threads include names and expletives that are redacted.)

Mayor Misty Buscher had publicly criticized an unnamed department head’s post celebrating a death; the city later confirmed Sullivan was replaced and that Underfanger would take over the information systems office. Local radio and digital outlets subsequently identified Sullivan as the official at issue and published the screenshots referenced above.

City officials said personnel and privacy rules limit the disclosure of additional details but indicated the administration expects professional conduct from public employees online and off. As of press time, no further disciplinary updates had been announced.