Campus Speech and Academic Freedom

Johnathan Perkins, former director of race and equity at the public University of California, Los Angeles, says UCLA has fired him over Bluesky posts in which he wrote he was "always glad when bigots die" and that Charlie Kirk "reaped what he sowed" after the conservative activist’s September 2025 assassination at Utah Valley University. Perkins, who was placed on leave in mid‑September as UCLA condemned any "celebration" of violence, now claims in fresh posts that his termination violates his First Amendment rights and is using a GoFundMe to raise money for living expenses and a planned lawsuit against the school. The Fox report reproduces several of his now‑deleted comments about Kirk, along with his later insistence to the UCLA Daily Bruin that he did not "celebrate" the killing but stands by not being sad about it. A UCLA spokesperson told Fox the university does not comment on personnel matters but noted employees who receive a notice of intent to terminate can respond before any final action, signaling that internal proceedings are still formally underway. The case intensifies national fights over whether and when public‑university DEI officials’ political speech about controversial figures—particularly applauding their deaths—remains protected, especially in the charged climate following Kirk’s assassination and other high‑profile firings for social‑media comments.