EDITORS' CORNER
South Carolina Attorney General says university has legal authority to discipline employees for ‘vile and incendiary comments’
One Clemson University staffer no longer has a job and two faculty members were removed from the classroom Monday after the institution said they made “inappropriate” comments about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The public South Carolina university made the announcement ahead of an emergency meeting called by its Board of Trustees on the matter. Since last week, Clemson has been facing pressure from state and federal lawmakers to act.
After investigating “inappropriate social media content,” Clemson stated Monday that it “terminated an employee.”
Additionally, two faculty members were “removed from their teaching duties pending investigation for termination,” the university stated. “As these are personnel matters, no further details are available at this time.”
The actions come after a “firestorm of criticism,” The Post and Courier reports, which started “on Sept. 12 with the Clemson College Republicans posting screenshots of comments and retweets allegedly penned by music professor Melvin Earl Villaver Jr. One screenshot appears to reference the 31-year-old Kirk and says, ‘Today was one of the most beautiful days ever.’”
The Clemson College Republicans also posted screenshots of comments allegedly made by another employee, Robin Newberry, that praised Kirk’s alleged murderer, Tyler Robinson, and celebrated his death.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
On Friday, authorities announced the arrest of suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah. On Saturday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a Wall Street Journal interview that Robinson was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”
In a statement Monday, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said the university has the legal authority to discipline or fire employees for “vile and incendiary comments on social media.”
“The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but it does not shield threats, glorification of violence, or behavior that undermines the mission of our state institutions,” Wilson said. “Clemson, and any state university in South Carolina, should not be paralyzed by fear of prosecution when dealing with employees who publicly endorse political violence.”
Last week, after the comments initially surfaced, the university issued a statement condemning “all expressions that endorse, glorify, or celebrate political violence,” while also affirming the constitutional right to free speech.
However, conservative lawmakers criticized the university for not taking a stronger response and some called for its funding to be revoked.
“This is a state school funded by taxpayer dollars. These radical professors must go, now. Cut the professors or cut @ClemsonUniv’s funding,” Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette wrote on X in response to the university’s initial statement.
South Carolina Speaker of the House Murrell Smith also described the employees’ comments as “vile” in an X post over the weekend.
On Saturday, Smith and other Republican leaders wrote a letter to the Clemson Board of Trustees urging it to “take immediate and appropriate action” to address the “vile and troubling comments.”
“As trustees, it is your duty to ensure the University and its employees maintain the trust and confidence of South Carolinians,” the letter states.
The situation also caught the attention of President Donald Trump and a number of U.S. Congressional leaders, including Nancy Mace.
