Bellarmine University: Professor Fired After Controversial Remarks About Trump Assassination Attempt

On July 13, 2024, Bellarmine University professor John James posted an article to Instagram about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump with the commentary, “If you’re gonna shoot, man, don’t miss.” On July 15, Bellarmine placed James on unpaid leave until August 20 on the asserted ground that “words that condone violence are unacceptable” and the post “reflects badly on Bellarmine as an institution[.]” The same day, Bellarmine evacuated parts of campus after receiving an emailed bomb threat “in the name of Donald Trump.” On July 16, Bellarmine terminated James from as an instructor for violating unspecified terms of his appointment and university policy. FIRE wrote Bellarmine on July 25, explaining that its commitment to free speech and the similarities between James’s speech and that in the Supreme Court case Rankin v. McPherson preclude Bellarmine from punishing vitriol about public figures and rhetorical hyperbole that references violence. FIRE also explained that when safety issues arise in close temporal proximity to a professor espousing controversial views, Bellarmine must address the threats without disciplining the professor, and we urged Bellarmine to reinstate James to his teaching position.