Syracuse University professors Jenn Jackson & Farhana Sultana placed on leave cheering Charlie Kirk death amid calls for their sacking amid outrage over ‘insensitive’ social media posts.
Syracuse University has placed two professors on leave following comments they made in the aftermath of the shooting death of conservative agitator, Charles Kirk last week.
The suspension of the two educators follows the teachers commenting about the conservative icon’s shooting death on social media, comments which left students and school administrators bristling.
🚨 UPDATE: Professor Farhana Sultana, Syracuse University, has just locked her X account. I will not rest until this coward is fired.
Upon seeing Charlie Kirk murdered, she posted:
“Rest in p*ss”
“Give him what he valued. No empathy.”
“He’s a genocidal, white supremacist.” pic.twitter.com/jntR4D9j1e— NizNellie3 (@NizNellie3) September 16, 2025
Syracuse professors cheer on conservative icon’s assassination
Assistant political science professor Jenn Jackson and Geography/Environment professor Farhana Sultana posted their remarks on BlueSky the day after Kirk was killed on Sept. 10.
‘Charlie Kirk said it was worth it to have ‘a few’ gun deaths each year so that we can have the Second Amendment. He called those deaths ‘prudent’ and a ‘rational deal.’ Him dying this way seems both ironic and in line with his own politics. Asé,’ Jackson wrote in one message, concluding with a West African affirmation along the lines of ‘Amen.’
Jackson — who identifies as nonbinary/agender; specializes in women’s and gender studies, African American, and LGBT studies; and uses they/them pronouns — also appeared to cheer a since-removed story by Jezebel detailing how the author paid witches to curse Kirk.
That piece had been published just two days before Kirk was gunned down according to the nypost.
‘Thank you, witches. Signed everybody,’ Jackson wrote on social media platform Threads.
In another Threads post, Jackson wrote in apparent response to the outpouring of shock and horror following Kirk’s killing: ‘To be clear: I do not believe in lying about people when they die. Sometimes people are trash. When they die, they are still trash. That’s how I choose to remember them.
‘And, they can rest in the same damnation and strife they were wishing on Black, Latine, migrant, queer, trans, and disabled people when they were living. No peace for you, bud.’
In another post, Jackson used nail polish emojis in a nod to another user who quoted Kirk as saying: ‘I think empathy is a made-up, New Age term that has done a lot of damage.’
After that statement, which Kirk made on his podcast in 2022, the Turning Point USA co-founder explained that he preferred sympathy over empathy.
Meet Farhana Sultana, Prof of Geography, Syracuse University. As a Bangladeshi Muslim she is white washing Islamist crimes against Hindus in BD. She calls Hindus “troll farms” and says Hindus are spreading disinformation and propaganda abt BD along with MAGA and Zionists. pic.twitter.com/dOPo2bSdwH
— Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) (@HinduHate) August 20, 2024
Farhana Sultana Syracuse professor, no stranger to controversy
Sultana, who teaches climate justice courses, and who has been at the center of her prior controversies, went on to further comment on Kirk’s shooting just hours after the influencer was gunned down at Utah Valley University.
‘Sorry, but rest in piss,’ she wrote on BlueSky shortly after the activist’s death was confirmed.
‘The white supremacist actually promoted gun violence. He died experiencing what he supported,’ the educator stated in another post.
She also responded to several users commenting on Kirk’s assassination, responding that ‘he died the way he lived.’
‘Thoughts and prayers,’ she wrote in another post. ‘Give him what he valued: no empathy.’
‘He was a genocidal, white supremacist, pro-gun dude who thought kindergarteners being slaughter [sic] was ok,’ Sultana stated in another post.
“The ‘goodness’ of cops is unimportant. They are employed in an institution meant to eradicate Blackness. The philosophical principles of being a police officer are racist and anti-Black.”-Jenn Jackson, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University pic.twitter.com/kMgnD7Hp21
— Susan A Stamp (@SusanAStam143) August 13, 2024
Syracuse University threatened with funding cut if it continues to employ controversial teachers
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), whose district is near Syracuse, commenting on the Syracuse professor’s comments condemned the educators, stating, ‘This type of conduct is reprehensible and has no place in any institution of higher learning.’
‘Syracuse University must immediately hold these professors accountable and publicly disclose the steps being taken to address their behavior,’ she added. ‘If the University continues to employ Professors Jackson and Sultana, it should forfeit every dollar of federal funding. Academic freedom does not extend to celebrating the assassination of an American citizen. Syracuse must act now.’
Syracuse spokesman Jeff Stoecker confirmed Wednesday that both professors had been placed on leave, saying: ‘Our congressional delegation has been briefed, some more than once.
‘We are aware of the social media activity, and two faculty members are currently on leave. The University is treating this matter with utmost seriousness and will remain fully compliant with the law.’
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested late on Sept. 11 and charged with Kirk’s murder.
During Tuesday court proceedings, Utah prosecutors stated that are seeking the death penalty.
Commentators have since called to have both professors fired.
