EDITORS' CORNER
Key Takeaways
- Columbia University lecturer Hadeel Assali called Charlie Kirk a 'dead Nazi' on social media after his assassination and condemned the university for lowering flags to half-staff in his honor.
- Assali's comments reflect a broader trend among some university faculty who have publicly celebrated Kirk's murder, with incidents of dismissals for inflammatory remarks reported across institutions.
- Massive public gatherings, including tributes from prominent figures were held to honor Charlie Kirk, contrasting the negative sentiments expressed by some academics.
A Columbia University lecturer who teaches “environmental justice” recently called conservative pundit Charlie Kirk a “dead Nazi” following his assassination.
In the post on Instagram, Hadeel Assali also condemned the Ivy League university for dropping its flags to half-staff following a federal mandate to pay tribute to Kirk, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
The lecturer reposted a photo of a graffiti-covered wall in Los Angeles that reads “2 black men were lynched & the media is mourning a dead Nazi.”
Adding her own comment, Assali wrote, “And Columbia university has flags at half mast for the dead nazi.”
A Columbia spokesperson told the Free Beacon the school “follows federal, state and local guidance on the lowering of our flags” but does not “comment on tasteless social media posts.”
Assali’s social media tirade continued on Sunday when she wrote on Instagram, “May we see the abolition of Israel and Zionism within our lifetime.”
“Why are we allowing our institutions to be policed and controlled by Zionists?” she wrote, adding, “How will we root out this and all forms of white colonial supremacy?”
Assali is one of several university faculty who have celebrated or justified Kirk’s murder over the last two weeks.
Capital Research Center’s Parker Thayer is keeping a list on X of individuals that have been fired for their public comments on Kirk’s murder. Thayer has documented 100 cases.
One such case is a Kansas Department of Education employee who was recently fired after she called Kirk’s assassination “well deserved.”
Katie Allen, who was a KSDE research analyst, apologized for the comment after facing immense backlash, but still lost her job, The College Fix previously reported.
Similarly, a University of Arkansas Little Rock law professor, Felicia Branch, is facing suspension and calls for termination from state officials following her inflammatory posts on social media.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Branch declared she would not “pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace.”
What’s more, in a recent post on X, Arizona State University Professor Owen Anderson criticized his fellow faculty for demonizing Charlie Kirk.
“I’ve sat in ASU faculty meetings where professors call Charlie Kirk a white supremacist and attempt to whip up hatred for him and TPUSA,” Anderson wrote.
“When will we say enough and stop paying for these professors to teach their hate?” he wrote.
While some faculty continue to call Kirk names and justify his death, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at State Farm Stadium in Arizona Sunday to honor the conservative activist’s legacy, The New York Post reported.
Speakers including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Erika Kirk, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among many others, took the stage.
“Charlie Kirk loved America with everything he had. And as we can see so clearly today, America loved Charlie Kirk,” Trump said.
Thousands of students also gathered at Colorado State University last week to honor Kirk, CBS News reported.
He was set to debate students at the school Thursday on the second stop of Turning Point USA’s “The American Comeback Tour.” Still, more than 7,000 people showed up to pay him homage.
