conPhoto by Gage Skidmore
In the wake of the death of right-wing demagogue Charlie Kirk from a sniper’s bullet in – which ironically happened as he was fallaciously taking the wrong side of the gun control debate and arguing in bad faith using coded racist language – his legion of detractors, many of whom legitimately were threatened by his rhetoric and the actions of his supporters, reacted with understandable glee, vindication and relief. So much so that they played songs they felt spoke to the occasion.
Many also joked about gun control debates being a real pain in the neck, how close Charlie Kirk came to finally becoming open-minded, and how he actually leaned left in the end. Memes showing a photo of Charlie Kirk in the throes of a neuromuscular reaction at the moment of impact altered to make him appear to be playing drums also began to circulate. Even more pointedly (and poignantly), a political cartoon drawn by Lalo Alcaraz calls out Charlie Kirk's callous advocation for human sacrifice in the name of a gross misrepresentation of the Second Amendment by showing Kirk in the afterlife being confronted by murdered schoolchildren who ask, “So, was it worth it, Charlie?”
Inevitably, Charlie Kirk’s fanatical supporters were none too pleased, vowing revenge on those who would dare disrespect him. In short order, conservative activist Jason Sheppard, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, unveiled a social media-style app called Cancel The Hate, in which users could share the personal information of people who rejoiced in Charlie Kirk's violent death, ostensibly to the end of getting them fired from their jobs and rendering them vulnerable to threats, harassment and attacks, despite the claim on CancelTheHate.com that “We do not seek revenge or mob justice. Our goal is transparency – to ensure that individuals in positions of power cannot hide hateful words or actions from public scrutiny. They should NOT be harassed, threatened, or harmed in any way.”
According to Jason Sheppard, Cancel The Hate fielded over 38,000 reports within 30 hours of being launched.
Even though a promise was posted on CancelTheHate.com that users submitting reports would be granted anonymity, on 22 September 2025, Straight Arrow News (SAN) reported that a security researcher identifying himself as BobDaHacker discovered a flaw in the program that exposed users’ phone numbers and email addresses, regardless of whether or not privacy settings were activated to hide them. Just before CancelTheHate.com was taken offline, SAN set up a test account. Shortly afterward, BobDaHacker provided SAN with a sample of data from 142 users, including the test account. When SAN contacted an anonymous user who had their data leaked, the user noted receiving a sudden influx of spam emails requesting donations, which led them to smell a rat.
As of this writing, a message has been posted on CancelTheHate.com stating, “Changes are coming. Please check back soon for the new service provider.” Jason Sheppard has also deleted his profiles on Facebook and X.com and has not replied to emails from media outlets.
Such developments ought to come as no surprise. On 17 September 2025, Democrat activist David Earl Williams III reported via social media that Jason Sheppard was federally convicted of wire fraud, served 55 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution. A quick Google search turned up an account from the FBI dated 12 June 2012 indicating that while Sheppard was the president of TruClose Financial Services, a company that closed loans collateralized by real estate, he embezzled money from the company’s accounts to pay off gambling debts, his wife's exorbitant credit card bills and otherwise fund a lavish lifestyle.
Considering Jason Sheppard’s documented track record of being a greedy chancer, it was inevitable that he would have exploited Charlie Kirk's violent death and the grief of his supporters for personal gain. This certainly goes to show how ugly things get when the right-wing pseudophilosophy regarding rugged individualism, a.k.a. “I got mine so fuck you and everyone else” gets taken to its logical conclusion. Apparently, conservatives will prey on their own at least almost as easily as they prey on their chosen enemies.
As of 1 October 2025, CancelTheHate.com only shows a banner showing a photo of Charlie Kirk taken from his final public appearance with the words “Coming Soon.” Meanwhile, a website called CharlieQuotes.com has been launched, and it collects many of his hateful quotes that disparaged immigrants, black people, Latin American people, the LGBT community and women.
At this point, it's fair to say that his small-minded hatred of people whose lives he knew nothing about will be his legacy, as he built his career on exactly that, and the people he chose as enemies cannot be expected to forget that.
