Yesterday, we told you about the disturbing flyers posted on the Georgetown University Campus. Those flyers contained a QR code that led to a Google Docs sign-up form for the "John Brown Club" -- a club named after the violent abolitionist. The "John Brown Club" also has ties to Antifa.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has now addressed the issue in a post on X.
I am aware of the appalling posters that were displayed on Georgetown’s campus today.
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) September 24, 2025
At a moment like this, Georgetown has to determine what it stands for as an institution. ED officials have spoken to Georgetown administrators, who made the decision to remove the flyers.…
She writes:
At a moment like this, Georgetown has to determine what it stands for as an institution. ED officials have spoken to Georgetown administrators, who made the decision to remove the flyers. Campus police are investigating the incident and will deploy resources to protect students as necessary.
Allowing violent rhetoric to fester on our nation’s campuses without consequences is dangerous. It must be condemned by institutional leaders.
I am grateful to those who spoke out against this and made noise about the posters on campus - you made a difference. There is power in speaking up to reveal these hateful ideologies that have incited deadly violence. Keep fighting for good!
Townhall reached out to Georgetown yesterday and received no response. But in a statement to Fox News, a Georgetown spokesperson said, "Georgetown University has no tolerance for calls for violence or threats to the university. The flyers have been removed, and the university is investigating this incident and working to ensure the safety of our community."
Georgetown reported for fiscal year 2024 that it received $267 million in federal aid from the federal government (student loans, Pell grants) and an additional $195 million in research grants or contracts.
Georgetown receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal financial aid programs and research grants.
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) September 25, 2025
It should lose all of that if this is what they allow on campus https://t.co/bgDqESB5q1
While some applauded McMahon's statement, others called for harsher treatment of universities. Author and radio host Todd Starnes said, "Very happy to know you are appalled, but that's not good enough. Conservatives are literally being hunted and the training grounds for the terrorists are university campuses. No more second chances. Defund the universities. Period."
Very happy to know you are appalled, but that's not good enough. Conservatives are literally being hunted and the training grounds for the terrorists are university campuses. No more second chances. Defund the universities. Period. https://t.co/ofN68Ntp7S
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) September 25, 2025
The Center for Counter Extremism classifies the "John Brown Club" as a "far-Left extremist group." And reports that in 2019, a member of the group, Willem Van Spronsen, trespassed into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA. Van Spronsen "set his car on fire and threw incendiary devices at propane tanks on the facility’s grounds" and was killed by Washington State Police.
On September 17, McMahon said that institutions like Georgetown "must all commit to pursuing what Charlie Kirk fought for – a thriving marketplace of ideas, with freedom of speech, thought, and inquiry" and that the ideological capture of universities puts us at risk of "losing not only the pursuit of truth but our sense of humanity."