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College professors and other university employees nationwide are facing backlash for controversial social media posts responding to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Sept. 10 while speaking at an event for his organization at Utah Valley University. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children.
Since his death, multiple higher education employees have shared posts appearing to celebrate or justify his killing. Screenshots of the posts spread widely on social media and drew condemnation from Republican lawmakers and conservative groups demanding accountability.
At the University of Mississippi, an administrator was fired after sharing a message that described Kirk as a "yt supremacist and reimagined Klan member."
PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS FACE BACKLASH FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS MOCKING CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
According to the Mississippi Free Press, Lauren Stokes, former executive assistant to the vice chancellor, reposted the message. The post also rejected sympathy for Kirk, saying he had "incited and clapped for the brutalizing of Black and Brown bodies."
Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce later announced an employee had been terminated.
"The comments run completely counter to our institutional values of civility, fairness and respecting the dignity of each person," Boyce wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. "We condemn these actions and this staff member is no longer employed by the university."
The university and Stokes did not return Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
YEARS OF CAMPUS ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS RESURFACE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER
A view of flowers and photographs laid by mourners outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria on Sept. 11, 2025. (Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images)
A respiratory therapist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center also drew scrutiny after screenshots showed him posting, "He deserves an unnamed ditch in the middle of nowhere. Maybe the waste of oxygen will be worth something to the vultures."
The university medical center said it was reviewing the matter but did not disclose whether any disciplinary action had been taken.
"The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center strongly condemns all forms of violence and remains committed to providing world-class care to every person, every time," it said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The employee, Stephen Byrom, did not respond to a request for comment.
At the University of South Dakota, School of Fine Arts professor Michael Hook faced termination after posting a profanity-laced message calling Kirk a "hate-spreading Nazi." The state Board of Regents announced its intent to fire him, citing unprofessional conduct. His faculty page has since been removed.
Charlie Kirk debates with students at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)
The move followed calls from South Dakota House Speaker Jon Hansen and Gov. Larry Rhoden, both of whom shared screenshots of the post. Hook did not return a request for comment.
In Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University fired assistant dean Laura Sosh-Lightsy after she posted, "Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence. Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy."
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee announced in a Sept. 10 statement that she had been terminated immediately, calling her remarks "inappropriate and callous."
The University of Tennessee also confirmed it had begun the termination process for assistant anthropology professor Tamar R. Shirinian, who shared a profanity-laced post reacting to Kirk's death.
"The world is better off without him in it," she wrote, according to screenshots shared online. "Even those who are claiming to be sad for his wife and kids... like, his kids are better off living in a world without a disgusting psychopath like him and his wife, well, she's a sick f--- for marrying him so I don't care about her feelings."
Republican Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., applauded the move. Shirinian did not respond to a request for comment.
At the University of Pennsylvania, climate professor Michael E. Mann deleted several posts mocking Kirk after facing criticism.
In his initial posts, Mann mocked Kirk's murder as "white on white violence" and retweeted posts criticizing those lauding Kirk after his murder. One repost referred to Kirk as "the head of Trump's Hitler Youth."
Mann later said he opposed political violence and acknowledged that the language in some of the posts was inappropriate.
"I do NOT approve of the inappropriate & inflammatory language used to describe Kirk (which I’d overlooked). Have deleted," Mann wrote on X.
In another post, he added, "Political violence is completely unacceptable no matter what ‘side’ it is on. I hope we can all agree with that."
Charile Kirk left a wife, Erika, and two children. (Charlie Kirk via Facebook)
‘FEARLESS’ TOUR TAKES CHARLIE KIRK’S FREE SPEECH MISSION TO COLLEGES NATIONWIDE
UPenn did not return a request for comment.
Other institutions, including Austin Peay State University in Tennessee and Clemson University in South Carolina, also announced firings of faculty members over posts deemed insensitive or celebratory of Kirk’s murder.
Several public school teachers have also faced suspensions or terminations in recent days for similar remarks.
The wave of firings comes amid broader concerns that political violence is becoming increasingly normalized, after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered last December and Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman was killed in a targeted attack in June.
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Fox News’ Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.
Kristine Parks is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Read more.
