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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a joint press conference Feb. 18, 2015 with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, l, to address a Texas federal court’s decision on the lawsuit filed by 26 states challenging President Obama’s executive action on immigration

DENTON, Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating the University of North Texas, saying they have failed to properly investigate and punish students who allegedly celebrated the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

Further, the AG says the school has allowed “left-wing extremists” to operate on-campus even following his request for their investigation of the September incident. 

Ken Paxton investigates UNT

The latest:

Paxton said in his Thursday letter that the school’s response to allegations that students celebrated the high-profile shooting has been “abysmal” and real action has been “non-existent.” 

He went on to allege that “self-identified ‘militant’ student groups” have increased their violent rhetoric against conservatives and other students. The AG marked these alleged bad actors as Marxists and Antifa-aligned. 

‘Overrun by left-wing extremists’

What they’re saying:

“In the face of left-wing terror being celebrated and the threatening of students, UNT leadership has chosen to do next to nothing. That’s outrageous,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Thus far, there has been zero school officials fired, zero students expelled, and zero accountability from UNT as the campus is overrun by left-wing extremists violently threatening anyone who disagrees with them. I will continue to investigate this matter and use the full weight of this office to stop this madness.” 

Paxton asks UNT to investigate students

The backstory:

In a letter sent to University President Harrison Keller Sept. 19, Paxton claims a student arrived in a classroom where other students were “celebrating” Kirk’s death and “expressing hope that the President would suffer the same fate.”

Paxton’s letter states the student said Kirk’s death should not be celebrated or discussed in class and further claims that the student was yelled at by her classmates and told to leave the classroom by her professor. The student reported the incident to Dean of Students Laura Smith, who told the student to report the incident to the head of the Psychology Department. 

Paxton said the incident could have violated multiple policies at the school, including student conduct and employee impartiality.
UNT President Harrison Keller released the following response:

“I appreciate the concerns expressed by Attorney General Paxton. We take these and all allegations of misconduct by students or faculty very seriously. We expect UNT students and community members to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the values and policies of the university.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

Texas PoliticsDentonKen Paxton