Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is examining whether the University of North Texas (UNT) violated state law following allegations that a student was harassed for her religious beliefs after speaking out against the celebration of Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassination.
In a letter dated September 19, sent to University President Harrison Keller and Dean of Students Laura Smith, Paxton outlined claims that on the day of Kirk’s death, Mary-Catherine Hallmark faced hostility for expressing her faith-based opposition to the violence.
Hallmark documented the incident on social media, sharing a TikTok video that went viral, which showed a classmate displaying a video of Kirk’s alleged assassination while others cheered and supported the act.
In the September 10 video, Hallmark confronted her classmates, seen celebrating Kirk’s death earlier that day, saying, “Why are we cheering for someone getting shot? No matter what political beliefs are, we should not be cheering that someone got shot. He has a family.”
The following day, UNT released a statement about Kirk’s “tragic death,” condemning “recent actions of a few of our community members” but did not specifically mention Hallmark’s video.
Paxton’s letter alleges that a professor failed to intervene during the incident and instead asked Hallmark to leave the classroom, which Paxton claims was an act of punishment for her beliefs.
Just a week later, on September 18, Hallmark posted another video showing an incident outside a UNT campus library, where an unidentified student ripped up and threw away flyers from a Turning Point USA setup, which read, "Always love America." The student then told the group, “Go f— yourselves and burn in Hell.”
In an audio recording of a meeting with UNT police posted on September 17, Hallmark stated that she received threats and harassment through the anonymous social media app Yik Yak, including posts targeting her by name, attacking her religious and political beliefs, and wishing her harm.
Some messages Hallmark shared with police labeled Kirk a “white supremacist,” while others used profanity to criticize her view of God, including one that said, “I hope you know that God is ashamed of you.”
In light of the events, Paxton’s letter — which states that Kirk was “assassinated for his courageous defense of truth, patriotism, and Christian beliefs” — warns UNT that the video shared by Hallmark “demonstrates that there may be numerous violations of university policy, ranging from Student Conduct to Employee impartiality.”
Paxton further stated, “For too long, schools across the country have ignored complaints of misconduct against left-wing students. This lack of disciplinary action has reinforced a principle that such conduct is appropriate and, in turn, has contributed to radicalizing individuals to engage in reprehensible actions.”
