US professors facing threats, firings and harassment over Charlie Kirk posts | US universities

Academics have warned that a “climate of fear” still grips university campuses across the US after a number of professors were fired or punished for their comments following the Charlie Kirk assassination.

Some 40 academics have been dismissed in recent weeks, according to the American Association of University Professors. Many were targeted by right-wing campaigners who took advantage of what they wrote or shared and pressured their employers to take action.

Late-night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel was the person most alienated by comments regarding Kirk. Kimmel is back on the air now. However, dismissals, suspensions and disciplinary measures continued and provoked anxiety On the state of free speech in the United States.

Dr. is an associate professor of art history and faculty member at Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality. Like Kirk, Karen Leader shared posts quoting and paraphrasing Kirk’s rhetoric. stating Taylor Swift’s claim that she should “obey” her fiancée, that 2023 is “going around targeting white people on the prowl, which happens all the time in urban America, that’s a fact,” and his comments that the second amendment would be worth the gun deaths. “This is Charlie Kirk,” he wrote.

“Academics are particularly sensitive about Charlie Kirk because we were one of his first targets. professor watch listsaid the Leader. List, started That report, which Kirk wrote in 2016, includes hundreds of professors across the United States accused of left-leaning bias. Many of those listed subsequently faced threats and harassment.

A group of right-wing users on social media jumped on posts criticizing Kirk and tagged the employers of the academics who wrote and shared them. Among the leading names behind such campaigns is Jordan Chamberlain. former Ron DeSantis stafferand LibsofTikTok account, which has a record of spreading misinformation and targeting individuals and businesses, after all Bomb threats and harassment.

Chamberlain and LibsofTikTok posted screenshots of Leader’s posts and tagged his employer, Florida Atlantic University. University shortly after published a statement He announced that he had been placed on academic leave, citing “repeated comments regarding the Charlie Kirk assassination.”

“This was signed by the president of our university and mischaracterized what I did,” Leader said. “I did not comment on the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I did not comment on his death. I did not comment on the manner of his death. I did not condone it or celebrate it in any way.”

It comes amid a wave of disciplinary measures at universities and other workplaces. Florida Education Commissioner warned Teachers could be fired for “vile comments” about Kirk.

“Why is the academy so blatantly bowing and bending to our core principles?” The leader continued. “It’s a violation of the first amendment that no one should be complying with. But instead there’s a climate of fear.”

A spokesperson for Florida Atlantic University said: “Florida Atlantic University does not comment on personnel matters.”

Suzanne Swierc of Ball State University called Kirk’s death a “tragedy” and said, “Even though it is difficult, I can and do pray for his soul.” special He added on social media: “Charlie Kirk’s death is a reflection of the violence, fear and hatred he sowed. This does not excuse his death AND is a harsh reality.”

However, the post was later made public and Swierc was fired. “September 12, when my private post was published without my consent, was one of the worst days of my life,” he said at a press conference on September 22. “I spent most of that day terrified by a number of texts, phone calls and voicemails coming into my personal number and work accounts.”

Swierc filed a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union challenging his termination. Ball State University declined to comment on the lawsuit.

These cases are part of a broader worrying trend, according to union officials and lawyers representing academics across the country.

“I think our count is around 40 faculty members have been laid off since Kirk’s assassination, and that number is growing rapidly, but we are seeing some of the people who were fired being rehired,” said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors.

Some were dismissed after aggressive criticism of Kirk, even expressing satisfaction after his death. Others, although more restrained, still faced retaliation.

“I don’t know what all of these 40 faculty members said, and I probably disagree with most of what was said or some of what was said,” Wolfson said. “I don’t know. But what we do know is that faculty have a 100% right to due process, and this is a complete violation of due process due to political pressure from shock troops, from the Trump administration to state leaders, who then brutally attack our members and faculty.”

Phillip Michael Hook, a tenured art professor at the University of South Dakota, is on leave because of a post he made about Kirk. He also went to court and filed a lawsuit. privileged temporary injunction.

One special Hook belittled Kirk on social media, saying “apparently he’s a hate-spreading Nazi” and asking, “Where was the concern when politicians in Minnesota were being shot?” he added.

While he deleted the post three hours later, a screenshot went viral. LibsofTikTokThe South Dakota Republican joined officials in calling for his firing.

“The essence of this case is that the government cannot punish people for speaking out, and the government cannot punish people for speaking out about the issues of the day,” Cook’s attorney, Jim Leach, said. “The state of South Dakota attempted to punish a college professor who spoke out following the shooting of Charlie Kirk, and the governor and speaker of South Dakota almost immediately said this was unacceptable and that he should be fired, and the University of South Dakota unfortunately complied.”

The University of South Dakota did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

“We think our members and faculty in higher education deserve due process,” Wolfson said. “We think this is one of many attempts to undermine academic freedom and free speech on our campuses.”