FAU professor files federal lawsuit after being put on leave for defending Charlie Kirk

A conservative professor at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is suing the school for placing him on leave after responding to social media posts celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death.

Professor Rebel Cole, a finance professor at FAU, claims that the university violated his First Amendment right to free speech by placing him on leave over the posts.

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“My legal team has filed a legal complaint against the FAU President Adam Hasner and his administrators, who acted illegally to strip me of my 1st Amendment rights,” Cole posted to X, alongside the court filing on Nov. 14.

My legal team has filed a legal complaint against the FAU Presidente Adam Hasner and his administrators who acted illegally to strip me of my 1st Amendment rights.

We are standing up for faculty across America.

We cannot allow administrators to strip us of our 1st Amendment… pic.twitter.com/CUXaNYtMNR

— Rebel A. Cole (@RebelACole) November 14, 2025

“We are standing up for faculty across America,” he added. “We cannot allow administrators to strip us of our 1st Amendment right. We will WIN.”

The incident stems from Cole’s response to a Sept. 11 video on X which showed someone shouting, “We got Charlie in the neck,” referring to TPUSA Founder and President Charlie Kirk’s death on Sept. 10. 

Cole posted in reply to the video, “This is NOT free speech. It is inciting a riot. Illegal. Someone should shut his mouth.”

When another user replied that no one fears Cole, the professor responded, “We are going to hunt you down. We are going to identify you. Then we are going to make you radioactive to polite society. And we will make you both unemployed and unemployable.”

The university informed Cole of its decision to place him on leave on Sept. 15. Cole’s Nov. 12 lawsuit, which was published by WPTV, describes Cole’s comments as protected speech under the First Amendment.

“This case arises from Defendants’ retaliatory actions against Plaintiff Dr. Rebel A. Cole because he chose to confront people on social media who celebrated the murder of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk while also calling for further political violence,” the lawsuit says.

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“Dr. Cole was removed from his classes (who were assigned to other faculty), stripped of his PhD students (who were assigned to other faculty), barred from campus and university-sponsored events, and publicly maligned for exercising his First Amendment right to engage with non-university personnel on social media over the assassination of Mr. Kirk,” the lawsuit continues.

“The Constitution forbids such blatant viewpoint discrimination, and Dr. Cole sues to make himself whole after his First Amendment rights were violated,” it states.

Many professors have been placed on leave for making comments about Charlie Kirk, but the vast majority have celebrated his death.

An Auburn University professor sued the school for being placed on leave for writing that she “will not mourn the wicked.” 

“We are getting closer and closer to the real assignment,” she continued.

Professors at East Tennessee State University and Stonehill College have also faced scrutiny over remarks directed at Kirk.

Campus Reform has contacted Florida Atlantic University and Professor Cole for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.