A Carnegie Mellon University professor is on a voluntary sabbatical as the school investigates alleged posts made to her now-deactivated X account about right-wing activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's death.
The issue arose after Libs of TikTok, an X account run by far-right influencer Chaya Raichik, shared a post from another X user to her 4.7 million followers. The post showed alleged screenshots from Carnegie Mellon University professor Uju Anya's X account, where Anya denounced Kirk immediately following his killing by accused gunman Tyler Robinson during a speaking engagement at a Utah college on Sept. 10, 2025, as well as comments mocking the anniversary of his death.
Raichik tagged Carnegie Mellon University in the post,
saying, "Hi @CarnegieMellon, this your professor? Any comment?"
USA TODAY reached out to Anya for comment but did not receive a response, with an automatic response from her university email saying she was away on sabbatical and that her inbox was not regularly being checked.
Here's what we know.
Carnegie Mellon professor under fire for Charlie Kirk posts
Anya, an associate professor of second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University, came under fire for alleged posts made to X after Raichik shared alleged screenshots from Anya's now-deactivated account.
The screenshots show posts from just days ago that refer to the anniversary of Kirk's death as the "Kirkiversary" and "Kirkmas," with Anya wishing everyone an "Eid al kirk mubarak."
Older alleged posts included in the screenshots refer to Kirk using derogatory language, with Anya replying to a post about Kirk's death on Sept. 10, 2025 with the comment, "May he rot in piss."
"Please don't trouble yourself with knowing anything about him except good riddance to bad rubbish," she said in response to another post on the same day.
Carnegie Mellon responds to professor's posts on Charlie Kirk
Within a day of Raichik's post, Carnegie Mellon officials responded on X.
"We are deeply concerned by recent hostile and threatening social media posts by Dr. Anya and are reviewing this matter closely," school officials said in a Sept. 11 post.
In another post, officials added that Anya's comments "incorrectly imply our university's endorsement and are contrary to our community standards and values as well as our commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and welcoming campus community."
Charlie Kirk firings, lawsuits end in First Amendment payouts
Since Kirk's death, numerous people who have publicly criticized the conservative activist have been fired. In many cases, lawsuits and settlements have followed.
In May of this year, Florida biologist Brittany Brown was set to receive $485,000 in a settlement with the state after she was fired from her job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for a social media post criticizing Kirk.
The same month, a lawsuit filed by former police officer in Tennessee who was arrested and charged with making threats of mass violence in connection with social media posts he made about Kirk's assassination was settled, with the former police officer, Larry Bushart, set to receive $835,000 in exchange for dismissing his complaint. The complaint accused Perry County, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems and Perry County Sheriff's Investigator Jason Morrow of violating Buschart's First and Fourth Amendment rights.
In January, Austin Peay State University theatre professor Darren Michael reached a settlement for $500,00 after he was fired in September 2025 for sharing an article on his personal social media titled "Charlie Kirk says gun deaths are 'unfortunately' worth it to keep 2nd Amendment." He was reinstated to his position on Dec. 30, 2025.
Other settlements include two cases in Iowa. In April, a high school English teacher who made a comment about Kirk on a family member's Facebook post was set to receive a clean employment record and $145,000 from her school district, and in May, a public defender was set to receive $125,000 after her firing over online comment she made about Kirk's death.
Stephany Matat, Jeanine Santucci, Angele Latham, Nick El Hajj and William Morris contributed to this report.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carnegie Mellon professor under fire for alleged Charlie Kirk posts
