{"id":135593,"date":"2025-10-21T16:52:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T00:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/10\/21\/law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T16:52:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T00:52:49","slug":"law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/10\/21\/law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Law Professor Fired For Comments On Charlie Kirk\u2019s Death Over Objections Of Appeals Panel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Law professor Felicia Branch was fired by the University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law over comments she made on Facebook concerning the death of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Branch called particular attention to the methods of Kirk, such as doxxing queer Black activist Preston Mitchum, and that she would \u201cnot pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/arkansas-blog\/2025\/10\/16\/ualr-fires-black-woman-professor-over-charlie-kirk-posts-despite-panel-recommendation-not-to\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported by <\/a>the Arkansas Times, \u201cA parade of white Republicans in Arkansas, including the governor and the attorney general, quickly came for Branch\u2019s job.\u201d And they were ultimately successful in their efforts to remove a Black woman law professor from her position.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/09\/law-professor-suspended-over-charlie-kirk-post\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In September<\/a>, Branch was suspended with pay while the school conducted an investigation. But that investigation appears to have been disingenuous at best. On September 24th, Bowen School of Law Dean Colin Crawford fired Branch, <a href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Branch-communication-09.24.2025.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">writing<\/a>, \u201cfree expression must be balanced against standards of appropriate professional behavior.\u201d Then, earlier this month, an appeals panel made up of UA Little Rock faculty\u00a0rejected that outcome, recommending Branch receive a warning. But UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale\u00a0rejected the appeals panel\u2019s recommendation. Instead,<a href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Branch-Letter-10.13.2025-Chancellor.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Drale upheld<\/a> Branch\u2019s termination, writing that Branch\u2019s posts were disruptive to \u201cthe operation and effectiveness of the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, the Bowen School of Law, and UA Little Rock.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The irony is palpable that Branch is getting fired for her own controversial statements when Kirk made a career of making controversial statements. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong><em><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-80083 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568.jpg?resize=174%2C160&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"160\" title=\"\">Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1XC11QhFCWxWr4NQrk2sEA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of <a href=\"https:\/\/legaltalknetwork.com\/podcasts\/thinking-like-a-lawyer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email <a href=\"mailto:kathryn@abovethelaw.com?subject=Your%20Column\" target='_blank\"' rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/10\/law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel\/%E2%80%9C\/\/twitter.com\/Kathryn1%22%E2%80%9D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/10\/law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/10\/law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Law Professor Fired For Comments On Charlie Kirk\u2019s Death Over Objections Of Appeals Panel<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-single__featured-image post-single__featured-image--medium alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/facebook-login-screen-300x199.jpg?resize=300%2C199&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>Law professor Felicia Branch was fired by the University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law over comments she made on Facebook concerning the death of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Branch called particular attention to the methods of Kirk, such as doxxing queer Black activist Preston Mitchum, and that she would \u201cnot pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/arkansas-blog\/2025\/10\/16\/ualr-fires-black-woman-professor-over-charlie-kirk-posts-despite-panel-recommendation-not-to\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reported by <\/a>the Arkansas Times, \u201cA parade of white Republicans in Arkansas, including the governor and the attorney general, quickly came for Branch\u2019s job.\u201d And they were ultimately successful in their efforts to remove a Black woman law professor from her position.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/09\/law-professor-suspended-over-charlie-kirk-post\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In September<\/a>, Branch was suspended with pay while the school conducted an investigation. But that investigation appears to have been disingenuous at best. On September 24th, Bowen School of Law Dean Colin Crawford fired Branch, <a href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Branch-communication-09.24.2025.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">writing<\/a>, \u201cfree expression must be balanced against standards of appropriate professional behavior.\u201d Then, earlier this month, an appeals panel made up of UA Little Rock faculty\u00a0rejected that outcome, recommending Branch receive a warning. But UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale\u00a0rejected the appeals panel\u2019s recommendation. Instead,<a href=\"https:\/\/arktimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Branch-Letter-10.13.2025-Chancellor.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Drale upheld<\/a> Branch\u2019s termination, writing that Branch\u2019s posts were disruptive to \u201cthe operation and effectiveness of the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, the Bowen School of Law, and UA Little Rock.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The irony is palpable that Branch is getting fired for her own controversial statements when Kirk made a career of making controversial statements. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80083 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568.jpg?resize=174%2C160&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"160\" title=\"\">Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1XC11QhFCWxWr4NQrk2sEA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of <a href=\"https:\/\/legaltalknetwork.com\/podcasts\/thinking-like-a-lawyer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#214a40554953584f6140434e57445549444d40560f424e4c1e5254434b4442551c784e5453041311624e4d544c4f\" target=\"_blank&quot;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/10\/law-professor-fired-for-comments-on-charlie-kirks-death-over-objections-of-appeals-panel\/%E2%80%9C\/\/twitter.com\/Kathryn1%22%E2%80%9D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon <a href=\"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@Kathryn1%22%22\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@[email\u00a0protected].<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Law professor Felicia Branch was fired by the University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law over comments she made on Facebook concerning the death of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. Branch called particular attention to the methods of Kirk, such as doxxing queer Black activist Preston Mitchum, and that she would \u201cnot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":135594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-nxPRav.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}