On Tuesday, September 16, a student at Texas State University was expelled for impersonating conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a campus memorial event. The event was organized by the local chapter of “Turning Point USA,” a group founded by Kirk, at the San Marcos campus of Texas State University.
Video footage from the event shows a male student wearing a backpack verbally assaulting the crowd, hitting his own neck as if shot. He then stood in front of a statue, pretending to be Charlie Kirk, once again hitting his neck and falling to the ground in imitation of an assassination scene.
The incident sparked condemnation, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott taking to social media to demand the immediate expulsion of the student, emphasizing that “mocking or joking about assassinations must come with consequences.” The president of Texas State University, Kelly Damphousse, later confirmed that the student involved had been identified and expelled.
In a statement, Damphousse emphasized, “I will not tolerate mockery or advocacy of violence on campus, which goes against the values of Texas State University.”
The day before this incident, a similar event occurred at Texas Tech University. An 18-year-old student, Camryn Giselle Booker, shouted to her classmates at a memorial event, “Your buddy is dead, he got shot in the head.” She was subsequently arrested and expelled by the university.
The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Booker faces charges of misdemeanor assault and has been sent to the Lubbock County Jail.
In a statement, Texas Tech University expressed, “Any behavior that disparages victims of violence should be condemned, has no place on campus, and goes against our values.”
Charlie Kirk was tragically shot last Wednesday at Utah Valley University, shocking the world. The suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, was apprehended after a 33-hour manhunt, with reports indicating that his relatives and a family friend alerted authorities after he confessed to the crime.