Rutgers chancellor launches safety review amid ‘Dr Antifa’ controversy
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The president of Rutgers University says the Ivy League institution is committed to academic freedom and will launch a security review and “academic freedom” task force amid ongoing controversy surrounding pro-Anfafa professor Mark Bray.
“I write today to reaffirm Rutgers University’s unwavering commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression—values that define a great research university and underpin our mission of discovery, dialogue, and public engagement,” Rutgers Chancellor Francine Conway wrote. Fox News Digital.
“Incidents involving faculty ‘doxing’ and harassment understandably raise deep concerns in our community,” Conway wrote. “I would like to express my support for any member of our community who is targeted for their scholarships.”
RUTGERS TURNING POINT US DEPARTMENT LAUNCHED A PETITION FOR THE PROFESSOR IT CALLED ‘DR ANTIFA’
The president of Rutgers University says the Ivy League institution is committed to academic freedom and will launch a security review and “academic freedom” task force amid ongoing controversy surrounding pro-Anfafa professor Mark Bray. (Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images, AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Members of Rutgers earlier this month Turning Point USA section started a petition The decision was made to dismiss assistant teaching professor Mark Bray, citing concerns about his past statements supporting Antifa.
Bray, who recently announced that he would move his family to Europe “for security reasons” and said that his personal information had been deleted and “received multiple death threats”, had expressed strong support for “antifascism” in his previous online posts.
He is the author of the book “Himself”.antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, which explicitly calls for “militant anti-fascism.” The book states that “at least 50 percent of the authors’ proceeds will go to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund, which is run by more than three hundred antifa members from eighteen countries.”
The International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund says on its website that it has “donated over $250,000 to more than 800 anti-fascists in 26 different countries.”
‘DR ANTIFA’ RUTGERS PROFESSOR ANNOUNCES HE IS MOVING TO EUROPE AFTER CALLING A PETITION FOR TPUSA’S FIRING
The beautiful seaside town and scenic bay of Calella de Palafrugell on Catalonia’s Costa Brava. (L) Mark Bray, an assistant professor of history at Rutgers, waits in a hotel room in Newark, N.J., before a scheduled flight to Spain on Thursday, October 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey; iStock)
Conway said in his statement that Rutgers’ chief of police and chief of information technology have been instructed to review both physical and digital security protocols on campus.
“Therefore, I wish to express, in the strongest possible terms, not only my personal disgust with the practice of doxxing and threatening our faculty and students, but also the university’s commitment to protecting the security of our faculty, students, and staff from the consequences of public disclosure of their personal information.”
Conway said officials will evaluate existing systems and “report on additional recommendations” to strengthen protections.
He also asked Rutgers’ faculty council to review academic freedom “given current challenges.”
“Freedom of speech and academic freedom do not protect any of us from disagreement or criticism,” Conway wrote. “At Rutgers, we encourage open and robust debate on even the most controversial issues. But the appropriate response to speech we oppose is more speech, not actions intended to intimidate or threaten the personal safety of others.”
Rutgers student and Turning Point USA chapter treasurer Megyn Doyle said in an interview with Fox News Digital that Conway’s statement “clearly defends Mark Bray and his relationship with Antifa.” Although the statement is intended to promote academic freedom, free speech, and open debate, Mark Bray’s ongoing record suggests otherwise. Through his book ‘Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook’, he calls for political violence and rapprochement with antifascists. Antifa has repeatedly demonstrated hostility toward conservatives.”
Doyle added: “If Rutgers truly aims to protect academic freedom, free speech, and open debate, it should hold Mark Bray to the same standard.”
“Defending a professor who aims to silence conservatives completely undermines Chancellor Conway’s statement,” Doyle said. “We therefore call on Rutgers to take immediate action and terminate their professional relationship with Mark Bray.”
Ava Kwan, outreach coordinator for Turning Point’s US chapter, told Fox News Digital that Rutgers “whitewashed Bray’s call for ‘preventive violence’ against conservatives as ‘scholarship.'”
“Turning Point’s protected right to petition is not the same as its financial support of terrorists,” Kwan added. “They are trying to protect the radical left and bury any mention of a personal information harvesting campaign against my family!”
Kwan said it was exposed on platforms like Reddit.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Rutgers for comment.
RUTGERS STUDENT GOVERNMENT DEMAND UNIVERSITY DEFEND OF ANTIFA-ALIGNED PROFESSOR WHO FLED COUNTRY
The International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund says on its website that it has “donated over $250,000 to more than 800 anti-fascists in 26 different countries.” (Thomas Patterson/AFP/Getty Images)
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