The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), one of the nation’s most prominent faculty groups, rushed to defend its members’ free speech rights in comments celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk, yet pointedly refused to condemn the killing itself.
In a statement, the group gave to Fox News Digital, they said:
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.
"At a moment when higher education is threatened by forces that seek to destroy it and its role in a democratic society, the anticipatory obedience shown by this rush to judgment must be avoided," the statement continued.
AAUP never released a statement condemning political violence in the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week, but did, however, condemn "the recent and recurring bomb and terroristic threats against multiple historically Black colleges and universities."
The only people facing real consequences over Charlie Kirk’s assassination are those who openly cheered it. And let’s be clear: no one is shielded from speech repercussions in the private sector. Employers generally don’t see applauding a political murder as a desirable quality in an employee. University professors and faculty, furthermore, should be fostering open dialogue, rather than applauding or even implicitly supporting assassination of those they disagree with.
This firing ignores principles of due process and free speech that are fundamental to higher education. Everyone deserves due process, and faculty speaking as private citizens have the right to free speech h like any other American. https://t.co/KlyHVBHIaa
— AAUP-AFT at UT Austin (@aaup_utAustin) September 11, 2025
What happened to free speech? We've seen at least a dozen political firings in the last week of faculty, staff, and student workers. This isn't just about academic freedom. It's about job security and our right to free speech. It won't stop here. https://t.co/Y9BqVPNkmA
— Higher Education Labor United (HELU) (@HigherEdLabor) September 15, 2025
In 2024, the AAUP published documents calling Charlie Kirk's company, Turning Point USA as "racist, homophobic, and transphobic speech while on campus," while calling Charlie a "professional provocateur," saying he had "built a career perfecting how to provoke college students," and is "actively hostile to higher education." The materials also encouraged members of the AAUP to hold administrators accountable if they allowed the organization to operate on campus.
Fox News Digital asked the organization if it stood by its past comments, to which they said, "Colleges and universities should exercise restraint and not interfere with legitimate invitations to outside speakers, except in the most extraordinary circumstances where strong evidence of imminent danger justifies rescinding an invitation." However the group did not comment on whether TPUSA falls under those "extraordinary circumstances."