MTSU dean Laura Sosh-Lightsy fired after Facebook post about Charlie Kirk

Laura Sosh-Lightsy, a dean at Middle Tennessee State University, was fired after a Facebook post she made following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the university and news accounts say. Her late-night post said, “Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence.

Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy.” Screenshots of the comment circulated online, and Senator Marsha Blackburn called for her removal on X; minutes after that post Ms. Sosh-Lightsy was told to expect a call from the university president, Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, who by the end of the night had called and fired her.

Dr. McPhee called the comments “inappropriate and callous” and said they “undermined the university’s credibility and reputation.” The firing has become part of a wider debate over sanctions for speech after Mr. Kirk’s killing. The New York Times reported that scores of people nationwide have been fired, suspended or asked to step aside for comments about Mr.

Kirk, and that an online campaign, encouraged by some members of the Trump administration and other conservative figures, sought quickly to target those who made disparaging or celebratory posts. Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the mix of shock and partisan vitriol has driven many of the responses; FIRE is representing two other Tennesseans penalized for posts about Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Laura Sosh-lightsy, Mtsu, Charlie Kirk, Marsha Blackburn, Sidney A. Mcphee