UCLA official put on leave after Kirk comments

A UCLA official with its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office has been placed on leave amid an investigation over remarks made on social media concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk, according to social media reports and university sources.

- RUBEN VIVES

STEPHAN SAVOIA Associated Press.

JOHNATHAN Perkins serves as UCLA's director of race and equity.

Johnathan Perkins, the director of race and equity, appeared to have published the remarks on BlueSky.

The posts express satisfaction with as well as indifference to the killing of Kirk, a popular right-wing commentator and activist.

In an emailed statement to The Times, Perkins said the posts were "written in my own hand, in my own voice, in no way the echo of my employer, UCLA." He said the posts are also protected by the 1st Amendment.

"It's a truly sad day. My livelihood could ultimately be threatened for stating, in the clearest terms, that I felt no grief at the death of an avowed white nationalist [a] man who dedicated his life to despising mine, to despising my people, to despising our very existence," Perkins wrote. "I am devastated to learn of higher ed colleagues around the country, facing similar and much worse consequences, including termination. I admit, I thought UCLA was different. I hope we are."

The statement came hours after he issued a statement through LinkedIn which has since been taken down-stating that he had deactivated all social media accounts with the exception of Instagram and that he had received multiple death threats. He said his home address and phone number had also been made public by critics because "I said it's okay to be happy when a racist who called for your eradication dies."

Perkins said the university had placed him on "investigative leave" to look into the complaints that Kirk's supporters had made against him. "This is Project 2025," he wrote. "This is fascism at work."

Screenshots of Perkins' posts have been shared by conservatives on social media.

In one, a BlueSky user wrote that they did not feel sad over Kirk's death; Perkins appeared to respond with: "Why shouldn't he be dead?"