U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday highlighted the “disturbing” comments made by three Tennessee professors following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), during a hearing on political violence.
Blackburn made the remarks as Daily Wire host and author Michael Knowles testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, which on Tuesday held a hearing examining the potential threat of political violence to the nation.
“We had in Tennessee, three professors that made just horrendous statements. Two have been terminated. One is going through a termination hearing at this point,” said Blackburn.
Blackburn then listed an assistant dean at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK), and an English professor at Cumberland University, who have all either been terminated or are undergoing dismissal proceedings.
“People that praise violence should not be anywhere near our children,” said Blackburn. “I do not know of a parent that wants their child to be receiving instruction from an individual who glorifies and applauds brutal murder and the murder of a husband, a father, the murder of someone who believes, like me, that our nation has been kept free because we believe in robust, respectful, bipartisan debate.”
Professors who praise political violence should not be allowed anywhere near our children.
As @michaeljknowles pointed out, “You cannot possibly expect a parent to send their child to a school where the professor might endeavor to kill half the students.” pic.twitter.com/FzDiLd7D6F
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) October 28, 2025
Knowles, who was testifying before the subcommittee, told Blackburn that parents should be concerned about radicalization of faculty at American colleges and universities, suggesting that some professors could want their own students to be killed for their political views.
“You cannot possibly expect a parent to send their children to a school where the professors might endeavor to kill half the students. It would be like, you know, going to a restaurant with the assumption that the waiters want to poison half the customers, or something like that,” said Knowles. “You can’t go to a hospital where the nurses want to kill half the patients. It’s just you cannot operate a society that way. That is obviously beyond the pale.”
In addition to those educators referenced by Blackburn, a professor at Austin Peay State University was fired for a social media post that some suggested claimed Kirk deserved to be killed due to his views on the Second Amendment.
TPUSA spokesman and conservative social media influence Savannah Chrisley has additionally highlighted the controversy at Lipscomb Academy, where students at the K-12 Christian school were initially barred from wearing red ties to mourn Kirk’s assassination, and recently warned that the episode could jeopardize the deed for the Lipscomb University campus.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
