Less than a day after Clemson University’s Board of Trustees fired a staff member for telling his Facebook “friends” to be more like Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer, two professors who posted similar dark joy over the conservative icon’s assassination have been shown the door.
“Clemson University has dismissed two faculty members following a thorough investigation of inappropriate social media content in response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” the South Carolina institution of higher education announced Tuesday in a statement.
The Clemson College Republicans, which exposed the employees’ abhorrent posts to the broader Clemson community and beyond, applauded the dismissals.
“We’re very encouraged to see that, we’re very glad the university took that step earlier today,” College Republicans Chairman Jack Lyle said on Tuesday’s edition of The Federalist Radio Hour podcast.
‘Weak-Willed and Not Decisive’
Jackson Heaberlin, social chairman of the Clemson College Republicans, said the administration’s initial tepid response to the posts didn’t fill him with confidence there would be much in the way of consequences for the employees’ actions.
“Overall they were continuously weak-willed and not decisive in action,” he said on The Federalist Radio Hour. “To me it feels like a very clear red-line issue: is this allowed on your campus or is it not allowed on your campus?” Without heavy public pressure, Heaberlin said, it’s doubtful the employees would have been fired.
Clemson got all the public pressure it could handle.
South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith, Senate President Thomas Alexander, House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister and Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler, all Republicans, late last week sent Clemson Trustees a letter urging them “to meet to consider the situation and take immediate and appropriate action.” Some threatened defunding.
The South Carolina Freedom Caucus in particular stepped up the pressure in the state legislature. Caucus Chairman Jordan Pace called for a special session to deal with Clemson’s “failure to act.”
“If Clemson refuses to hold these faculty members accountable, then the taxpayers deserve a refund,” the Republican wrote to legislative leadership.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., called on the U.S. Department of Education to cut federal funding to Clemson and other schools that allow faculty members to celebrate political assassination.
Clemson appears to have gotten the message.
“We fully acknowledge the concerns raised regarding the timing of recent personnel decisions. Every deliberation reflects the University’s unwavering commitment to conduct all actions in full compliance with institutional policies, state and federal laws, and the foundational principles of due process,” the Clemson statement asserts.
‘Fight for What’s Right’
The university once again did not name the faculty members involved, but multiple sources have identified the individuals as Clemson music professor Earl Villaver Jr. and assistant professor Josh Bregy. According to Clemson College Republicans’ screenshots of online comments and retweets, Villaver appears to have declared the day of Kirk’s murder “one of the most beautiful days ever.”
“Racism and White Supremacy age you,” the “Hip Hop artist and scholar” apparently wrote in response to some particularly vile posts.
And leftist assistant professor Josh Bregy, according to the College Republicans, reposted a rage tweet from a fellow leftist, highlighting the assertion that “KARMA” had caught up with Kirk.
“As Kirk said, play certain games with certain prizes,” the original post, written by Kaitlyn Eubanks-Philips, declared.
On Monday, Clemson administrators announced they had fired Robin Newberry, a long-time Asbestos Program Manager who reportedly mocked Kirk’s murder on Facebook — encouraging others to emulate his accused killer.
“In a world full of Charlie Kirks and Brian Thompsons, be a Tyler Robinson or a Luigi Mangione,” Newberry allegedly wrote, according to a screenshot posted by the Clemson College Republicans. The post refers to Kirk’s alleged assassin and the accused killer of health insurance executive Brian Thompson, Mangione, who is charged with fatally shooting the CEO in the back.
Lyle said he just wanted his beloved university to do the right thing.
“I and my members love Clemson University enough to advocate for it, enough to fight for what’s right within it,” he told The Federalist. “I want to be on this campus and I want to feel safe here. I want to feel as though I am welcome here. I want to feel as though my ideology is not necessarily, as Jackson put it, a death warrant on this campus.”
Listen to The Federalist Radio Hour podcast, “‘What Would Charlie Kirk Do?’: Young Conservatives Right A Wrong At Clemson University,” here.
Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.
