State Representative and attorney Adam Mathews today called for the immediate resignation of Judge Ted Berry following a series of public comments on social media about the tragic death of Charlie Kirk. The statements, which celebrated the death with vitriolic, racially charged, and political language, represent a serious violation of the ethical standards required of every judge in Ohio.

"A judge must be a pillar of fairness and impartiality in our community," said Rep. Mathews. "To see a sitting judge post comments like 'Rest in Hatred & Division!', ask 'How's he feel about gun violence & gun control in Hell, now?', and then celebrate the race of the killer by stating 'So, a white guy killed him! Color it KARMA!' is shocking and completely unacceptable. This is not the conduct of a neutral arbiter of the law; it is the behavior of a political activist who has abandoned the core principles of his office."

The Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth strict requirements for a judge's behavior, both on and off the bench.

DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL v. BERRY.
[Cite as Disciplinary Counsel v. Berry, 166 Ohio St.3d 112, 2021-Ohio-3864.]
Attorneys—Misconduct—Code of Judicial Conduct—Violation of Jud.Cond.R. 1.2,
requiring a judge to act at all times in a manner that promotes public
confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary
and to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety—
Conditionally stayed six-month suspension.
(No. 2021-0747—Submitted August 3, 2021—Decided November 3, 2021.)

ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme Court, No. 2021-005.
_______________________
Per Curiam.
{¶ 1} Respondent, Judge Theodore Newton Berry, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
Attorney Registration No. 0042025, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in
1989. Berry has been a judge of the Hamilton County Municipal Court since 2006.
{¶ 2} In March 2021, relator, disciplinary counsel, charged Berry with
violating the Code of Judicial Conduct for sending inappropriate Facebook
messages and videos to a court employee. Berry stipulated to the charged
misconduct, and the parties jointly recommended that he be publicly reprimanded
for his behavior. After a hearing, a three-member panel of the board found that
Berry had engaged in the stipulated misconduct, agreed that he should be publicly
reprimanded, and recommended that he also complete sexual-harassment
prevention training. The board issued a report adopting the panel’s finding of
misconduct but recommending that we impose a conditionally stayed six-month
suspension. Neither party has objected to the board’s report and recommendation.
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
{¶ 3} Based on our review of the record, we adopt the board’s finding of
misconduct and recommended sanction.

Berry isn’t the only Hamilton County official facing backlash after making controversial comments on Kirk’s death.

Chief assistant prosecuting attorney Ryan Nelson posted a comment, saying, “The man essentially gave us all permission to shrug at his death… 0/10 will not be missed.”

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office said it is aware of the comments, but that it will not comment on internal issues.

For those uncomfortable with communists being fired, please understand this is as NICE as the Right will be from now on. You can see it in incidents like this. This has happened many times in the past few days. Previously, nobody would have touched this animal.

Not anymore. https://t.co/OQLKEWUxxD

— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) September 14, 2025