The Charlie Kirk assassination has sparked heated reactions across academia, with the chairman of the University of Michigan’s faculty senate using Kirk’s death to launch new attacks. Derek Peterson, a history and African studies professor, told colleagues in a faculty-wide email that Kirk was “no friend of academic freedom” and claimed his “demagoguery has endangered a great many people.”
Peterson cited Turning Point USA’s Professor Watchlist, which lists professors accused of discriminating against conservative students. “Twenty members of the faculty are included on his ‘Professor Watchlist,'” he wrote, accusing Kirk of promoting “anti-American values.” While Peterson added that “violence has no place on a university campus,” his remarks raised questions about whether his framing could be seen as justifying political violence.
When pressed by the Washington Free Beacon about this tension, Peterson doubled down. “Thirty members of the Michigan faculty are on the Professor Watchlist,” he said, noting that “many of them are Black.” He argued that Kirk’s activism “coarsened public discourse, encouraged name-calling, and made it possible for ill-intentioned people to find and intimidate well-meaning folks.”
The reaction from other educators across the country has been even harsher. One New York City physics teacher called Kirk an “aspiring Goebbels” and celebrated that he “became a good Nazi.” At East Tennessee State University, a professor allegedly wrote, “This isn’t a tragedy. It’s a victory.”
Investigators say such rhetoric mirrors the motive of Tyler Robinson, the accused assassin, who told his roommate, “I had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred” and added, “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
