Anne Arundel County Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell on Wednesday rebuked some employees who he says posted “hateful, defamatory, derogatory” messages on social media following the assassination of conservative commentator and provocateur Charlie Kirk.

Bedell’s remarks come one week after Kirk’s allies discovered Instagram comments celebrating his murder that they believe were posted by a school district employee. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others flooded the school system’s phone lines and demanded the person be fired.

Although Bedell indicated more than one employee had posted inflammatory remarks on social media, he did not elaborate.

“I am not asking everyone to agree. Let’s be very clear on that,” Bedell said during Wednesday night’s school board meeting. “But I am asking everyone to focus on discussion instead of division.”

“Check your tone,” he added.

Kirk promoted conservatism through Turning Point USA, the right-wing organization he founded. He was shot and killed Sept. 10 by an assassin while speaking with college students at Utah Valley University. He was 31.

Bedell said he expects teachers and staff to refrain from posting on social media about assassinations or murders, except to offer sympathy. Inflammatory posts, he said, cause harm and contradict the district’s mission to educate and inspire all children.

The posts at the center of the controversy were made by someone who wrote, “Nah, I’m celebrating tonight” after news of Kirk’s death broke. The person went on to say, “They don’t care when I’m doing school shooting drills with my kids and neither did Charlie.”

“May he rot in hell,” the person wrote, according to screenshots.

In response, the school system was inundated with threats from angry Kirk supporters and calls to fire the poster, who appears to be a permanent substitute teacher at Monarch Academy Annapolis, a charter elementary school. The Banner was unable to reach the person for comment or to verify the authenticity of the posts.

“Threats are something we take very seriously,” said Bob Mosier, a spokesperson for the district. “It is disconcerting that people feel they have the right to make statements like those made toward our employees last week.”

Two days after Kirk’s death, Bedell warned employees that inflammatory social media posts violate district policy and would be handled through the district’s disciplinary process. Mosier said Thursday the poster who sparked the controversy remains an employee.