- Erika Kirk retained legal counsel for University of Utah students facing investigation.
- The College Republicans posted a picture of a student with a "Kirkiversary" cake.
- A protest on Wednesday called for disciplinary action over alleged "doxxing."
A fight over free speech at the University of Utah erupted this week when administrators contacted College Republican students over allegations of internet doxxing after they posted a photo of a student celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The university canceled meetings with the students to discuss the reports on Wednesday amid a social media uproar that drew the attention of the Trump administration and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who retained legal counsel to assist both students.
Despite the backlash, the university said in a statement on Wednesday it will proceed with its review of the accusations, including “harassment, threats, and the inappropriate sharing or amplification of personal information,” consistent with school policies.
“The university will continue to simultaneously protect freedom of expression and the safety of our students,” the statement said. “Calls to harm someone, including electronic harassment and inappropriate sharing of information, are not protected by free speech.”
The University of Utah does not comment on the disciplinary process of specific students.
But the Office of the Dean of Students appears to have rescheduled a meeting with the students for Thursday, according to a screenshot of an email posted by one of the students, to discuss whether “the charges of misconduct were appropriate.”
University says students may have violated standard
On Tuesday, the university notified Utah Federation of College Republicans chair Riley Beesley and University of Utah College Republicans vice president Rylie Barnes that they may have violated the campus’s “Threatening or Endangering Behavior” standard.
Violations of this student behavior standard can result in a student’s admission to the university being rescinded. It covers true threats, intimidation and coercion, regardless of whether it is done in person, or digitally, via text message, email or social media.
The email referred to events surrounding an incident the week before, on Sept. 10, when University of Utah student Sara Larsen approached a College Republicans table where Barnes was advertising the anniversary memorial for Kirk that day at Utah Valley University.
The booth featured a whiteboard asking students whether Kirk deserved to be killed.
Larsen held up a white cake with a red inscription that said “Happy Kirkiversary,” according to Barnes, and appeared to pose as Barnes took a picture which she uploaded to the platform X. The post rapidly accumulated more than 6 million views.
“If they want to joke about Charlie getting assassinated, what’s next?” Barnes told the Deseret News. “We’re on campus every Tuesday and Thursday doing the exact same thing that Charlie did. So if we get murdered, are we going to be the same joke?”
A later post by an anonymous account, showing alleged LinkedIn pages for Larsen and someone who appears to be her family member, hit nearly 20 million views, with conservative influencers sharing the post as an example of young people mocking political violence.
Larsen reportedly received threats after she was identified online.
The next day, Larsen issued an apology, saying “upon reflection” she had concluded it was wrong to make light of Kirk’s death. Her expression of regret came alongside a campaign from students to penalize Barnes and Beesley for their social media activity.
A petition was created to hold College Republicans “accountable” by reporting Barnes to the dean of students. A few dozen members of progressive student groups attended a protest on Wednesday where they called on the school to decharter College Republicans as an official club.
“If the university realizes that its funding and resources are being used by an individual/organization to enable and, once again, promote like hate speech/doxxing, then in that case it should take disciplinary action,” Shaiban Khan, a student who participated in the protest, told the Deseret News.
While College Democrats at the University of Utah have not taken a position on what that disciplinary action should look like, they believe College Republicans flouted Larsen’s right to privacy by publishing her photo to their extensive online network.
The College Democrats want their GOP counterparts to remain on campus to foster civil dialogue, according to Ian Jacobson, the College Democrats external communications director. But he told the Deseret News that the group must condemn doxxing.
Trump official, TPUSA respond to university
Upon receiving notice of the university’s review, Beesley and Barnes labeled it a step toward expulsion. The emails did not mention expelling them, but the perception that College Republicans would be disciplined instead of Larsen ignited a firestorm.
Harmeet Dhillon, who serves as the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, targeting discriminatory policies in higher education, responded with a post from her personal account on X that said, “Utah ... wth is going on over there.”
Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet and TPUSA contributor Jack Posobiec said they were following the news closely, while Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer promised to push donors to divest from the school if it did not reverse course.
“I think the reactions from those online are really justified,” Beesley told the Deseret News. “You have a university that’s punishing individuals for calling out Democrat students who are celebrating murder. That’s messed up ... there’s no other way to look at it.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, a public interest law firm focused on free speech on college campuses, said on Wednesday they were looking into whether the university was taking punitive action against College Republican leaders for their posts.
Neither Larsen nor Barnes crossed the line when it comes to free speech on campus, according to Robert Shibley, FIRE’s special counsel for campus advocacy. Nothing about the interaction warrants university involvement in terms of discipline, he said.
Reprehensible speech in support of violence, like Larsen’s cake, and photos that lead to criticism from third parties fall within the bounds of protected speech at universities, Shibley said, adding that what Barnes did could be considered photo journalism.
“You’re going to be much more reluctant to take advantage of those rights ... if every time you do so you have to fear being dragged in front of the person who’s in charge of student discipline,” he told the Deseret News. “That’s the message that I think is really dangerous to send.”
By documenting their experience on X, Beesley and Barnes have rallied the support of powerful conservatives. Utah Sen. Mike Lee weighed in to call the review “unbelievably absurd,” and the family of Charlie Kirk reached out directly to help.
When Turning Point USA learned on Tuesday night about the meeting that the university had scheduled, Kirk’s widow, Erika, paid for attorneys to work through the night to represent Beesley and Barnes, according to Beesley and The Charlie Kirk Show.
Both Beesley and Barnes had an attorney present when the meetings were canceled, Beesley said.
A social media generation
The viral situation unfolding at the University of Utah has put a spotlight on how social media has ratcheted up “the power of speech” for every individual, according to Clifford Rosky, a professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.
But the First Amendment remains extremely rigorous. It provides firm protection for nearly all speech beside “true threats” — directly telling someone you intend to hurt them — and “incitement” — persuading someone else to commit a crime," Rosky told the Deseret News.
It would be “very difficult” to categorize College Republicans posting a photo of Sara Larsen as either of those things, Rosky said, especially since it would be extremely hard to prove the students intended for Larsen to get hurt because of their post.
Even when activity is covered by the First Amendment it doesn’t mean society does not set the bar higher.
“It’s one thing to have a freedom, and it’s another thing to exercise it,” Rosky said.
The College Republicans have doubled down in their use of free speech. It was important to draw the attention of Utahns to toxic political climate on campus, Barnes said. But she opposes those online who are doxxing, or threatening, Larsen, she said.
Barnes, who has also been the subject of death threats since her post went viral, said she has not reported Larsen to the dean of students. She believes Larsen’s “disgusting and vile” cake was protected by free speech and does not warrant disciplinary action.
