EXCLUSIVE: MTSU College Democrats appear to say 'There is no reason to feel sorry' for murdered Charlie Kirk

Exclusive messages obtained by Campus Reform from the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) College Democrats official group chat appear to show students mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 as they prepared to release a statement on behalf of the organization condemning political violence.

“When you spread hate in life… sometimes fascies get whats coming,” MTSU student Byron Knight said in a comment that received three likes from the group, screenshots seem to show. The comment suggests that Kirk deserved his assassination because he was fascist, a word increasingly employed by liberal media to describe conservatives. 

Recent headlines include: “Trump’s Petty-Tyrant Brand of Fascism,” and “Trump’s Washington DC takeover is straight out of a fascist playbook.” In 2024, Kamala Harris called Trump a fascist while campaigning against him. 

“All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology,” the message from a report about the loaded gun believed to be the weapon used to kill Kirk, released by Steven Crowder, says.

“It is okay to admit there is no reason to feel sorry for him,” Andrew Holmes appeared to say of Kirk, the husband of Erika Kirk and father of a 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. 

A student going by Lennon appeared to express their apathy twice, saying first “I honestly do not give a shit about Charlie Kirk,” before continuing to add “I totally understand that we as a group need to be very sensitive in the topic but let it be known know [sic] I do not care about Charlie Kirk at all,” 

Another student in the group chat, Noah Yates, seemed to backhandedly suggest that free speech should not be applied to Kirk because of what he calls Kirk’s “erasure of identities.” 

“I believe calling what kirk did only political commentary is diminishing of the erasure of identities he called for and the violence he has promoted against many minority groups not only in american but the world,” the comment reads. “I agree that commentary should be protected but he called for the erasure of people’s [sic] he didn’t like.” 

The statement released by the MTSU College Democrats says the group is “deeply alarmed” by the news and they “denounce any political violence, and find the assassination reviling.” 

Screenshots of the GroupMe chat were shared with Campus Reform by Ryan Robertson, the president of the MTSU College Republicans who was sent the screenshots by an anonymous source in the chat. 

MTSU assistant dean of students Laura Sosh-Lightsy was terminated for blaming Kirk for his own murder in comments made to her Facebook page. She took to the platform to share that she had “ZERO SYMPATHY” for the murder of Kirk, adding that he “spoke his own fate into existence.” 

Sosh-Lightsy worked closely with students over her 21 years at the university. Sosh-Lightsy was responsible for the investigation of Title IX claims and violations of University Student Disciplinary Rules. 

Robertson spoke with Campus Reform about the role of college political organizations and their obligations not to publish statements containing “falsehoods.”

Robertson told Campus Reform he believes the messages reveal “the amount of spite liberals have for other people despite attempts to appear virtuous.” Robertson raised concerns about the quality of leadership among the College Democrats of MTSU,  specifically Jorge Avila, the president of the organization, and Victoria Grigsby, the vice president, who both serve on the MTSU student council at large.

Avila and Grigsby took “little action to discourage such depraved remarks” in private yet signed off on a message of condolence to the public. He mentioned the group’s on-campus reputation as a “disingenuous” organization. 

According to the MTSU College Democrats’ Instagram bio, their mission is to “build a better campus community.”

Campus Reform has reached out to MTSU College Democrats for comment.