The South Dakota Board of Regents (BOR) issued a motion on Sept. 12 with intent to fire Michael Hook, an art professor at the University of South Dakota after a post made on his personal social media accounts following the assassination of conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23, Hook filed a lawsuit against USD and the BOR.
Hook wrote in a Facebook post, “Sorry for (Kirk’s family) that he was a hate spreading nazi and got killed.” In a later post Hook said, “I have no thoughts or prayers for this hate-spreading Nazi. A shrug, maybe.” Both posts have since been deleted along with his Facebook account.
The comments Hook made first caught the attention of South Dakota Speaker of the House Jon Hansen who called for the firing of Hook on Facebook.
“Yesterday, I was made aware of these hateful and vile comments made by a University of South Dakota professor regarding the death of Charlie Kirk,” Hansen said. “I immediately reached out to USD President Sheila Gestring and called on the professor to be fired.”
Shortly after, Hook’s posts garnered attention from South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden who took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his opinion.
“The Board of Regents intends to FIRE this University of South Dakota professor, and I’m Glad,” Rhoden said. “We need more Charlie Kirks on campus and less hatred like this.”
Hook was placed on administrative leave and was relieved of all duties according to a BOR statement from Shuree Mortenson.
“As the state’s public university system, it is essential for our institutions and employees to promote constructive dialogue based on mutual respect,” the statement read. “When Faculty and staff discuss or write about issues of public concern, they must recognize their roles as educators and their standing in their communities, which bring added obligations.”
Kirk, known for his conservative rhetoric and the founding of Turning Point USA – a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses – was
shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Videos of the assassination spread across social media sparking immense political discourse.
11 days after his termination, Hook filed a lawsuit against USD. The defendants named are Tim Rave, President of the South Dakota Board of Regents, Sheila Gestring, president of USD and Bruce Kelley, Dean of the USD College of Fine Arts.
Hook argues that the posts he made are protected under freedom of speech rights. Citing the policy he was fired over as “vague, overbroad, and unconstitutional, in violation of the First Amendment.”
“He (Hook) never pushed his very specific ideologies at all,” said Elizabeth Hopkins, a BFA student at USD. “He didn’t press his own beliefs; he persuaded us to embrace our own.”
The lawsuit requests a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction restraining defendants from continuing his administrative leave.
Hook didn’t specialize in a specific medium of art, instead he was considered a fundamentals professor. All art students no matter the discipline had at least one class with him early in their academic career.
The termination process moved quickly with Hook forced to pack up his office and belongings in the middle of the school day and leave campus before the end of the day. Fellow faculty members and grad students are currently teaching his classes. His name has since been stripped from his office door and deleted from the USD website.
“Because his Facebook page was private, I feel like it should’ve been protected under freedom of speech,” Hopkins said. “I feel more upset because it was enacted by the South Dakota BOR and not by our president.”
In 2020, the South Dakota State House and Senate passed bills that banned faculty at state universities from forming unions. Union members at the time had concerns that policy changes including job protection could be passed without ever talking to faculty.
“I feel like it’s unfair that the Speaker of the House and or the Governor can come in and make executive decisions in our education system because they don’t agree with political opinions,” Hopkins said.
The move to terminate Hook from his position comes at a time of intense debate on capitol hill over collegiate indoctrination and politics, with South Carolina representative Nancy Mace posting on X, “Good morning to everyone except the teachers across the country celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination. May your careers end as fast as your humanity did.”
Following Hook’s removal, USD’s fine art building has had an increased police presence. The Dean and Chair of the Art Department have conducted a campus-wide fine arts meeting for students to ask questions and voice concerns.
Faculty at USD are making it clear to students that he is not fired but on administrative leave as he is under investigation. A petition is underway on campus to have Hook reinstated.
Both USD President Sheila Gestring and Black Hill State University President Steve Elliott both declined to comment on the situation, citing inability to discuss a personnel matter.
This story is ongoing and will be updated as more information is discovered.
