Professors defend Charlie Kirk assassination on Bluesky
In response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, various university faculty and staff have expressed views on Bluesky that appear to support his killing.
In response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, various university faculty and staff have expressed views on Bluesky that appear to support his killing.
“Charlie Kirk was a vicious, hateful fascist and white supremacist,” wrote Martin Pfeiffer, a “QUEER” Ph.D. candidate at the University of New Mexico. “To say anything else is a lie and, quite frankly, fascist collaboration.”
[RELATED: BREAKING: Charlie Kirk assassinated by “college age student” at Utah Valley University]
English professor Abigail Higgs of Morgan State University wrote: “I think what disturbs me most about the video is seeing how much blood he instantly lost. ... But no, I do not, nor would I ever, mourn the actual ghoul himself.”
In another post, she added, “He died like he lived: grotesquely.”
Branden McEuen, a history lecturer at Wayne State University, encouraged others to “quit reading the works of people who think Charlie Kirk was practicing politics the right way, or that he was a decent human being,” saying that “[Kirk] wasn’t either of those things.”
Following Kirk’s passing, President Trump described the Turning Point USA founder as “loved and admired by ALL, especially me.” However, a self-described former University of California, Irvine lecturer, Larry Tenney, retorted on Bluesky: “Hey Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk was NOT loved by all.”
Tenney continued, “WE KNOW WHO CHARLIE KIRK WAS. He built a fortune being an a*****e, saying outrageous s**t & attacking a majority of Americans.” Tenney also reposted a message that said “F**k off America,” “F**k off trump,” and “F**k all you mother f*****s, idgaf about any of you.”
Syracuse University political science assistant professor Jenn M. Jackson referenced Kirk’s support of Second Amendment rights, writing: “Charlie Kirk said it was worth it to have ‘a few’ gun deaths each year so that we can have the Second Amendment. He called those deaths ‘prudent’ and a ‘rational deal.’ Him dying this way seems both ironic and in line with his own politics.”
Fordham School of Law professor John Pfaff criticized Kirk’s Professor Watchlist, which works to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
The professor alleged that the list is a “threat to academic freedom.”
“Just a reminder: Kirk’s organization established the Professor Watchlist, which even the NYT framed as a threat to academic freedom,” Pfaff wrote.
“I don’t get why ppl keep describing him as [sic] a good-faith debater,” he continued. “One can say ‘Kirk should not have been murdered’ (which is true!) without engaging in hagiography.”
By Thursday, at least two university professors had been fired over comments made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk—one from the University of Mississippi and another from Middle Tennessee State University.
