University of Mississippi announced it has terminated an employee due to “hurtful, insensitive comments” made on social media regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk, CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA and political far-right activist.  

University Chancellor Glenn Boyce released an official statement on the university’s social media pages Thursday stating that an unnamed employee was terminated after Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking on the Utah Valley University campus. 

“The comments run completely counter to our institutional values of civility, fairness and respecting the dignity of each person,” the statement said. “We condemn these actions and this staff member is no longer employed by the university.” 

The university did not identify the employee in its statement. It’s just one instance among many Thursday where educators at schools across the country were criticized or fired for their comments about Kirk after his death. 

The employee referred to actions that “reimagined Klan members like Kirk” have taken, ending the post with, “So, no, I have no prayers to offer Kirk or respectable statements against violence.”

Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, a vocal critic of what he calls “woke” initiatives in higher education, shared a post on X that may have alluded to an employee at the university and what was re-shared on social media. 

“To Ole Miss, did an Ole Miss employee just repost this insane reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder? Answer,” White wrote. 

The attached photos to White’s post names Lauren Stokes, executive assistant to the vice chancellor of development at the university. She also has been publicly identified in other media. Stokes could not be reached for comment.

White’s post also shows the alleged reshared post that reads, ““For decades, yt [white] supremacist and reimagined Klan members like Kirk have wreaked havoc on our communities, condemning children and the populace at large to mass death for the sake of keeping their automatic guns.”

Neither university officials nor White’s office responded to Mississippi Today’s request for comment. 

Kirk was scheduled to appear at Ole Miss on Oct. 29, part of his “The American Comeback tour,” sponsored by his organization. 

It’s another high profile instance where White has used his platform to call out university employees and higher education leaders in the state for their beliefs he says are antithetical to conservative policy. 

In 2020, he pushed for a University of Mississippi professor to be fired after he stopped going to work for two weeks to protest racial inequality. More recently, he’s criticized Tommy Duff, former IHL board member, for his involvement in IHL policies surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion and other topics.  Both are considering a run for governor.