Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he sent a letter to the University of North Texas “demanding answers” after he alleges a student was kicked out of class for denouncing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
A statement from Paxton’s office said that UNT is potentially violating Texas law if they kicked the student out for voicing support of Kirk.
In the letter sent to UNT President Harrison Keller and Dean of Students Laura Smith, Paxton details the alleged incident.
On the day of the assassination, Paxton said the student, who was later kicked out, arrived in class where she allegedly saw other students watching a video of the Kirk shooting. They were cheering, hoping that he would die and celebrating that Kirk’s kids would grow up without a father, Paxton said. The letter also alleges that these students hoped Trump would be assassinated too.
Paxton says the student expressed that the killing shouldn’t be celebrated or discussed and in response, the other students yelled back at her.
“The agitator and other classmates began to yell at the student, and the professor directed her—and only her—to take the discussion out of the classroom,” the letter reads.
Paxton then details the communications the student had with officials at the university, to which he says the student received no response.
In the next section of the letter, Paxton listed several violations he believes employees and students made to the UNT Code of Conduct. He also asks UNT to include the professor in the overall investigation.
In response to Paxton’s letter, UNT President Harrison Keller shared the following statement with NBC 5:
“I appreciate the concerns expressed by Attorney General Paxton. We take these and all allegations of misconduct by students or faculty very seriously. We expect UNT students and community members to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the values and policies of the university.
We are currently conducting a thorough review of recent actions by a few of our community members. I am committed to ensuring UNT provides a safe learning and working environment for all of our UNT students and our community.”
In a statement from his office, Paxton said that universities have become “incubators for radical left-wing ideology.”
“Instead of addressing the disgusting celebrations of political assassinations, UNT has protected these terrorist sympathizers and punished the brave student who stood up to the radical mob,” Paxton said.
You can read Paxton’s full letter below.
