Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin and Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge are calling for disciplinary action for a law professor who made controversial comments on social media.
Felicia Branch is both an Assistant Professor of Clinical Education and the Tax Clinic Director at the UA Little Rock Bowen School of Law. She joined the faculty in July of this year.
Last week, Branch made several public Facebook posts about the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. He was shot during a public question-and-answer event at a Utah college last Wednesday. Officials pronounced him dead later in the day.
“It never fails,” Branch said in one of several now-deleted posts. “I will not pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace.”
The post references Psalm 109, a Bible passage she described as calling for justice in the face of evil.
In another Facebook post, Branch appears to compare those mourning Kirk’s death to the Ku Klux Klan. The caption reads “we certainly see you.”
Public officials condemned the posts. Attorney General Tim Griffin posted screenshots to his Facebook page, calling them “appalling.”
“We should and do have broad academic freedom in this country,” he said in a Facebook repost Tuesday. “But protections for scholarship offer no reason for an employer to tolerate an employee unabashedly celebrating political assassination.”
In a press release later in the day, he called for her termination.
“The First Amendment protects your right to say what you want. It does not, however, guarantee you the job you want, regardless of what you say. The law school should terminate her immediately.”
Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge called for an investigation into Branch’s comments.
“These statements are incompatible with the values of higher education, the legal profession, and the rule of law.”
The letter is addressed to Colin Crawford, the dean of Bowen School of Law. It's unclear as to what specific steps she wants the school to take other than "appropriate disciplinary action.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for Branch’s termination on X.
“Her comments are vile, disgusting, and unacceptable,” she said.
The Bowen School of Law did not respond to Little Rock Public Radio's request for comment. Branch’s statements may have violated the faculty code of conduct, which prohibits “discriminatory conduct.” The code says discriminatory conduct can be for a number of reasons, among them "political beliefs.”
Branch did not respond to Little Rock Public Radio’s request for comment. A statement from UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale says Branch has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an investigation, which was requested by UA System President Jay Silveria.
"As a university chancellor, I support the right to freedom of expression, but I want to make it clear that I oppose such violent rhetoric in the strongest of terms," Drale said. "As educators we should hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct that values civil discourse, speaks clearly about the dangers of political violence, and that prioritizes a rigorous, fair-minded learning environment.
"The postings I read this morning do not reflect this standard."
Little Rock Public Radio is licensed to the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas System.
