UNT faces scrutiny after a professor removed a student condemning celebration of political assassination.
The University of North Texas faces investigation from the state’s attorney general after a professor reportedly threw a student out of class for denouncing celebration over the political assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a press release in which he said that right after TPUSA Founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an event in Utah, sick students at UNT started cheering wildly in a classroom, not only gloating over Kirk’s murder, but wishing the same fate on President Donald Trump. One student spoke up to condemn the celebration of assassination, after which her classmates not only allegedly ridiculed her, but the professor forced her to leave. Paxton stated UNT hasn’t taken action to right the situation yet.
Glorifying assassination and calling for more assassination is not First Amendment-protected free speech, as the U.S. Supreme Court has defined (see RAV v. City of St. Paul). But publicly condemning assassination is free speech, and, according to Paxton, UNT has made official commitments to uphold free speech. Yet the professor reportedly defended the students cheering murder in unprotected speech, while punishing the student exercising truly protected free speech.
