Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Thursday he launched an investigation into the University of North Texas for its lack of disciplinary action against students whose reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk was posted online.
“Paxton is investigating UNT for still refusing to take disciplinary action against the radical students who celebrated the political assassination of national hero Charlie Kirk and who have threatened violent acts against students,” said Paxton’s office in a press release.
In September, Paxton sent a letter to university leadership in regard to the incident, which showed a group of UNT students in a classroom passing around the video of Kirk being shot and supposedly cheering about the event.
According to Paxton, the university said the student heard defending Kirk reported the incident to campus leadership, who said she could “drop the class or transfer.”
Paxton sent a follow-up letter to UNT President Harrison Keller that demanded answers from the university, but Paxton said response from leadership “has been abysmal and real action has been non-existent.”
UNT administration said in a statement that it “holds the safety of its students as a primary responsibility and takes the allegations reported to Attorney General Ken Paxton seriously.”
The university went on to say it would fully cooperate with the Paxton’s investigation and continue to do a thorough review of the incident while respecting the confidentiality of those involved.
Paxton went after the university in his full press release, saying it has been overrun with “left-wing extremists violently threatening anyone who disagrees with them.”
“In the face of left-wing terror being celebrated and the threatening of students, UNT leadership has chosen to do next to nothing. That’s outrageous,” said Paxton. “Thus far, there has been zero school officials fired, zero students expelled and zero accountability from UNT. I will continue to investigate this matter and use the full weight of this office to stop this madness.”
According to Paxton’s press release, self-identified “militant” student groups on UNT’s campus have increasingly used violent rhetoric against other students and conservatives.
In Paxton’s letter to Keller, he named two groups of concern at UNT:
- American Iron Front USA, which says on its website that it aims to “defend democracy” and “fight fascism.”
- Denton Student Union is Denton’s chapter of Revolutionary Student Union, according to its Instagram page.
Paxton said the groups “appear to be on campus, but neither group is listed on UNT’s student organization page.
UNT’s Turning Point USA chapter is listed on the organizations page.
