In the immediate aftermath of conservative titan Charlie Kirk's assassination, academics across the nation found themselves in hot water over a litany of crude commentary celebrating the Turning Point USA founder's death.
But after short disciplinary stints, many have been reinstated as the spring semester begins.
On Dec. 30, Austin Peay State University in Tennessee sent a message to community members notifying them that Darren Michael, an associate professor of acting and directing, had been reinstated. Michael was fired on Sept. 12, two days after Kirk's assassination. He shared a post with a 2023 remark by Kirk that gun deaths were "unfortunately worth it" to protect the Second Amendment.
On top of being rehired, Austin Peay acknowledged that it had not followed its own policies for terminating tenured faculty, and paid Michael a $500,000 settlement, according to local reports.
At the University of South Dakota, art professor Michael Hook was fired for slamming Kirk in the wake of his assassination.
"Okay. I don’t give a flying f--- about this Kirk person," Hook said hours after Kirk was killed, according to Clemson University's Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. He was fired on Sept. 26 after reposting a comment on Facebook.
"I’ll never advocate for violence in any form, but it sounds to me like karma is sometimes swift and ironic," the post said. "As Kirk said, 'Play certain games, win certain prizes.'"
The post also said that "no one should be gunned down" but that Kirk was a "flawed human being whose rhetoric caused notable damage."
Bregy sued the school, and Clemson agreed to rescind his termination. Bregy will remain on Clemson's payroll until May 15, but as part of the agreement, must resign before that date.
Kirk's alleged assassin was in court this week, where his attorneys argued that the entire prosecution team should be disqualified.
Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report.