Office Depot employees in Michigan canceled an order for a vigil in honor of Charlie Kirk under the excuse of "political propaganda"

Two employees of the Office Depot chain in Michigan refused to print posters intended to promote a vigil in memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, killed Sept. 10 during a rally on the campus of Utah Valley University. Employees said they would not comply with the order on the grounds that the material constituted "political propaganda," a situation that sparked outrage on social networks.

The fact was initially reported by the local media, Michigan Forward. Subsequently, independent journalist Collin Rugg amplified the news on his social networks. According to various whistleblowers on 'X,' the order had been placed online, paid for in advance, and was to be picked up about four hours later after the order was placed. However, upon arrival at the store, customers were informed that their order had not been fulfilled, not because of technical failures or service delays, but because of a staff decision.

One of the employees involved in the situation stated, "It's propaganda... I'm one of the managers," as could be seen in the video posted online.

Some users on 'X,' indignant, called for the dismissal of the officials, especially the person who identified himself as a branch manager. Others were charged directly against Office Depot, a retailer of office supplies.

The complaint was backed up by attorney Matthew S. DePerno, who claimed that the Kalamazoo County Republican Committee had requested a sign for Kirk's vigil at the Office Depot store in Portage, Michigan. According to DePerno, at 5:30 p.m., the printing supervisor called to say they were refusing to process the order. Eventually, according to DePerno, the group went to a FedEx branch, where they apologized and had the sign printed for free. 

Hours after the altercation, the company issued an official statement apologizing for what happened and reporting that one of the employees was fired.

"We are deeply concerned by the incident that occurred at Store 3382 in Portage, Michigan. The behavior displayed by our associate is completely unacceptable and insensitive, violates our company policies, and does not reflect the values we uphold at Office Depot. We sincerely apologize to the customer affected and to our community for this regrettable situation."

They then announced the termination of one of the employees involved, without identifying him: "Upon learning of the incident, we immediately reached out to the customer to address their concerns and seek to fulfill their order to their satisfaction. We also launched an immediate internal review, and, as a result, the associate involved is no longer with the organization."

The episode takes place in a climate of strong political polarization in the United States and occurs a few hours after the murder of Charlie Kirk, an event that has shaken the country and motivated the main political sectors to pronounce themselves in favor of a de-escalation of political violence.