A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the reinstatement of a University of South Dakota professor who was suspended for celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Shortly after Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University earlier this month, Phillip Michael Hook took to social media to celebrate the murder.
Hook also called Charlie Kirk, a Christian husband and father who spread the Gospel on college campuses across the country, a “hate spreading Nazi.”
“Okay. I don’t give a flying f*ck about this Kirk person. Apparently he was a hate spreading Nazi. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the idiotic right fringe to even know who he was. I’m sorry for his family that he was a hate spreading Nazi and got killed. I’m sure they deserved better. Maybe good people could now enter their lives. But geez, where was all this concern when the politicians in Minnesota were shot? And the school shootings? And Capitol Police? I have no thoughts or prayers for this hate spreading Nazi. A shrug, maybe,” Phillip Hook wrote.
In a follow-up social media post, Hook wrote: “Apparently my frustration with the sudden onslaught of coverage concerning a guy shot today led to a post I mow [sic] regret posting. I’m sure many folks fully understood my premise but the simple fact that some were offended, led me to remove the post. I extend this public apology to those who were offended. Om Shanti.”
ACTION: After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a South Dakota University professor posted “I don’t give a flying f—ck about this Kirk person,” “He was a hate-spreading Nazi.”
Why is the Board of Regents hiring people like this? If this is what he publicly spouts, what is he… pic.twitter.com/Ovmw8F1gr5
— South Dakota Freedom Caucus (@SDFreedomCaucus) September 12, 2025
Hook filed a lawsuit after he was suspended over his social media post attacking Charlie Kirk.
On Wednesday, US District Judge Karen Schreier, a Clinton appointee, issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and reinstated Hook while his lawsuit proceeds.
Judge Schreier said Hook is entitled to First Amendment protections.
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