Charlie Kirk
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined a multistate coalition in sending a letter to university administrations across the nation demanding they uphold the First Amendment and not add unreasonable policies to suppress conservative speech.
Paxton
This letter comes in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk earlier this month and responds to reports that some university officials are chilling conservative voices under the guise of heightened security.
“Any twisted radical attempting to weaponize the tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s assassination to silence the conservative movement will be exposed, stopped, and held accountable,” Paxton said. “The patriotic voices of the young people in the conservative movement are louder and stronger than ever, and I will not allow any school to quiet them.”
Paxton has asked schools to confirm that facility-use and security-fee policies are viewpoint-neutral. The Iowa-led letter also comes as a warning to schools that the Office of the Attorney General will be closely monitoring their policies and actions and stands ready to defend the First Amendment rights of all Texans on college campuses.
Last week, Paxton’s office sent a letter to the University of North Texas demanding answers for potentially violating Texas law by punishing a student for voicing support for Kirk.
Following Kirk’s assassination, UNT students reportedly began cheering in a classroom and declaring their hope that President Donald Trump would also suffer the same fate. When one brave student expressed her opinion that political assassinations should not be celebrated, she allegedly was berated by classmates and forced to leave by the professor.
Paxton’s office says university leaders have yet to enforce UNT’s student conduct code, employee ethics policy and its official commitments to free speech.
“For too long, universities have become incubators for radical left-wing ideology instead of fostering a space for learning and open, peaceful discussion of ideas,” Paxton said. “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.
“I will not remain silent when our so-called institutions of higher learning stifle free speech and encourage an atmosphere of political terrorism. UNT must answer for its apparent negligence.”
Paxton is seeking answers from UNT regarding the incident and requested the university follow its own rules by expanding its investigations into the students encouraging illegal political violence. Furthermore, the letter urges that if faculty or staff ratified that conduct through viewpoint discrimination against the complaining student that they be punished for violating university policy.
