Following the 10 September shooting and death of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a powerful figure in far-right politics, political pressure has mounted from the administration of US President Donald Trump, elected officials and conservative commentators surrounding freedom of speech. Many have called for those critical of Kirk or his ideology to be publicly reprimanded. Surveillance of social-media posts has intensified, and people who have expressed critical views online have faced workplace investigations—in some cases resulting in suspensions or even termination—and faced online harassment and doxxing.
Among the most visible cases is that of Karen Leader, a tenured professor of art history at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton. Leader was placed on administrative leave after posting about Kirk’s death on the social-media platform X. FAU president Adam Hasner confirmed on 13 September that a faculty member had been put on leave due to comments “regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk”. Reporting by David Fleshler at the South Florida Sun Sentinel first identified Leader as the faculty member in question.
The social-media posts that triggered Leader’s suspension did not specifically refer to the shooting but commented on Kirk’s controversial legacy and the politics surrounding his death.
In an official statement, a spokesperson for FAU said that the university’s “focus remains on our academic community’s responsibility to promote civil discourse, conduct healthy debate and treat one another with respect”. But the fallout has been intense. Leader has received death threats and her home address was posted online. She has left many of her original posts up on X and continues to share and repost Kirk’s own words about transgender rights, free speech, race and other issues, arguing that her intention is to invite discussion around his views, not to incite harm.
Leader, who holds a PhD in art history from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and has taught at FAU since 2009, says the action taken against her is not just a personal attack but a sign of a larger and more dangerous trend. In an interview that aired on 18 September on the local news channel WPTV, Leader said: “I wanted to have a chance to speak to my community and have them see what I’m trying to say,” later adding that “what’s happening is devaluing your degree, and that’s happening all over the state”.
FAU’s freedom-of-speech policy asserts that “individuals wishing to express ideas with which others may disagree must be free to do so, without fear of being bullied, threatened or silenced”. The policy explicitly frames disagreement as part of the learning process, not something to be avoided. Leader and her supporters argue that the university’s response contradicts its own mission and sets a dangerous precedent.
On 15 September, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) made an official statement that reads, in part: “The AAUP notes with great alarm the rash of recent administrative actions to discipline faculty, staff and student speech in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk. We write to remind leaders of colleges and universities of their fundamental duty to protect academic freedom and the absolute necessity to ensure that the freedom to discuss topics of public import without constraint is not curtailed under political pressure.”
