Professor on leave after allegedly calling Charlie Kirk a ‘hate-spreading Nazi’ following his death

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA/Gray News) - A University of South Dakota professor is under investigation after a social media post following the killing of Charlie Kirk.

The professor has been placed on leave and is reportedly on track to be fired, while drawing the ire of the state’s governor and others.

In the now-deleted post, professor Michael Hook allegedly wrote, in part:

“I have no thoughts or prayers for this hate-spreading Nazi, a shrug maybe.” Earlier in the post, in read, “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 can now enter their lives.”

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden took to social media himself to say that he was “shaking mad” about the post.

Levi Taglioli, USD student and founder of the PAC, Conservative Students for South Dakota, said he was in disbelief over the reported comments.

“I said no way that we’ve got this here in South Dakota, I mean, this is the sort of thing that I might expect, unfortunately, to see come off the East or the West Coast,” Taglioli said.

According to Taglioli, students at the university have been reaching out to him about the post, including people he doesn’t know.

“They’re reaching out, they’re saying, we need to get people organized. We need to talk to the president of USD, and we need to talk to the board of regents. They need to know that students here are not OK with this,” he said.

South Dakota Board of Regents Executive Director Nathan Lukkes says Hook has been placed on administrative leave and immediately relieved of all duties.

An intent to terminate has also been issued.

Hook will have an opportunity to respond over the next 14 days before the action becomes final in accordance with board policy.