Republican Kentucky lawmaker wants UofL employee fired over Charlie Kirk post

A Kentucky Republican lawmaker is criticizing a University of Louisville employee for a Facebook post she made after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down last week while speaking at a college in Utah. 

State Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington, voiced the criticism in response to a post on X by LibsofTikTok, a right-wing social media account that has millions of followers and has targeted numerous online commenters for what it says are disrespectful and objectionable statements in the wake of Kirk’s death.

Kirk, 31, died Wednesday after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University. A suspect is in custody. 

According to a screenshot in Roberts’ post, Alex Muckler, the assistant director of admissions for UofL’s Brandeis School of Law, shared a 2023 quote from Kirk about gun violence deaths being “worth it” to protect Second Amendment rights. Muckler introduced her Facebook post by writing,“Presented without comment.”

UofL spokesperson John Karman told the Lantern in an email that the university is reviewing the comments and added that Muckler is not on leave from her position. Muckler declined to comment for this story. 

“We have received feedback from both elected officials and members of the community,” Karman said. 

Roberts said Muckler’s post took Kirk’s original comments out of context and that they were presented “while his body is still warm.” 

“This comment in itself is an effort to minimize an assassination that took place on American soil,” Roberts said. 

“I think Muckler should be terminated from employment,” Roberts said. “I don’t think that people in our institutions that can determine whether you are admitted or not to your education for your career, should be in that position if they’re celebrating the murder of someone that thousands of UofL students look up to — and that’s both sides by the way.” 

Roberts’ original X post about Muckler was in response to a post from LibsofTikTok about a University of Kentucky employee. 

Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, of Smithfield, replied on X to Roberts’ post that Muckler “needs to be fired immediately.” 

LibsofTikTok shared a post by Bradley Van Hook, a UK employee who is now on leave for a comment he made on a WKYT article about Kirk’s death. Van Hook had paraphrased a quote from attorney Clarence Darrow, who died in 1938, writing, “I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great satisfaction.” LibsofTikTok initially misidentified Van Hook as an employee of Eastern Kentucky University. 

UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said that Van Hook, who manages the university’s key shop, is on administrative leave with pay, pending an investigation.

“The statement attributed to him — no matter who made it and what their affiliation is — does not reflect who we are as a community. It is cruel. It is insensitive and it is wrong,” Blanton said in a statement. “I should also add that whenever we receive a complaint about alleged or potential employee misconduct, we conduct a review or investigation. That is our protocol. We are proceeding in accordance with that process.”

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was a polarizing figure who regularly travelled to universities to host viewpoint debates with college students. He hosted such events at UK in recent years. Turning Point USA also maintains a searchable “watch list” of professors it accuses of pushing “leftist propaganda” in the classroom.

Workers across the country have been fired or placed on leave because of public remarks about Kirk following his death. Asked about concerns for protected speech under the First Amendment, Roberts said “you have the right to criticize officials, to criticize public figures, to enter into the marketplace of ideas — and that’s exactly what Charlie Kirk did, and he was killed for it.”

Roberts said he wasn’t interested in hearing from the other side of the political aisle about suppression of free speech.

“I don’t want to hear a word from the actual advocates of cancel culture when it comes to be that employers are not willing to put up with the celebration of assassination and the celebration of violence,” Roberts added. “I think that is a total bait-and-switch, because they’re insisting upon a right that they never guaranteed to the other side.”