Wayne State professor suspended for saying it’s ‘admirable to kill’ right-wing speakers
Jeremiah Poff
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A professor at Wayne State University has been placed on administrative leave over social media posts he made that justified murdering campus speakers.
The Detroit university’s president, M. Roy Wilson, announced in a statement that an unnamed professor at the university’s English department had been placed on paid leave pending a law enforcement review for a social media post that supported violence against campus speakers who are “racist, homophobic or transphobic.”
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“We have on many occasions defended the right of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but we feel this post far exceeds the bounds of reasonable or protected speech. It is, at best, morally reprehensible and, at worst, criminal,” Wilson said.
The professor was identified by multiple news outlets as Steven Shaviro.
Shaviro reportedly posted a lengthy statement on Facebook on freedom of speech on college campuses, accusing “right-wing groups” of inviting controversial speakers specifically to elicit a negative reaction from liberals. But in the same post, he said it would be preferable to kill such speakers rather than shout them down, as has taken place at numerous college campuses.
“Although I do not advocate violating federal and state criminal codes, I think it is far more admirable to kill a racist, homophobic or transphobic speaker than it is to shout them down,” Shaviro wrote.
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The professor’s post came after a high-profile incident at Stanford Law School that saw a number of student protesters shout down 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan. The disruption made national headlines and prompted an apology to Duncan from the law school dean.
Wilson said Shaviro’s post has been referred to law enforcement “for further review and investigation.”