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California university lecturer reinstated after wishing Charlie Kirk was dead shortly after shooting
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A California university lecturer has returned to the classroom after being placed on paid administrative leave for saying she wished Charlie Kirk had been killed shortly after he was shot last year.
According to the Fresno Bee, Barri Brennan, a Fresno State University communication lecturer, was back in the classroom on Tuesday, the second day of instruction in the spring semester.
“My classes went well, and I look forward to the rest of the semester,” Brennan told the Bee.
Fresno State did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The university confirmed to the Bee that Brennan was teaching this semester, but declined to comment further on her return to campus or any investigation into Brennan’s remarks.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated last September at the age of 31. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
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Brennan was captured in a recording on Sept. 10 sharing her thoughts about Kirk’s health condition shortly after being shot and prior to confirmation of his death.
“You want to know what I think? It’s too bad he’s not dead,” Brennan said. “Gonna put my political views right out there. And that’s exactly what I thought. He’s just shot? I was like, he’s not dead? I don’t even know who he is. Just a description of him. Don’t care.”
The comments were reportedly made during an informal and private conversation.
Kirk was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was pronounced dead later that day.
One student in Brennan’s class, Lara Habib, told The Collegian that the incident “felt very uncomfortable” and that students reacted with awkward pauses and uncertainty.
A California lecturer, who was placed on leave for wishing Charlie Kirk was killed shortly after he was shot, has returned to the classroom.
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“Her comments, made after Kirk had been shot but before news of his death had been confirmed by authorities, were made during an informal, private conversation prior to the start of a class and were secretly recorded. Portions of the discussion were later posted to social media,” the Bee reported.
The university posted a statement on its website condemning the comments shortly afterward.
“Fresno State is aware of a video circulating online that appears to record a lecturer making a disturbing comment about the death of Charlie Kirk. The university has launched an immediate investigation into this incident,” the university said.
“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any language that celebrates or condones violence. Such remarks are antithetical to our values at Fresno State,” they added.
A tribute to Charlie Kirk is shown on the jumbotron before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Bristol, Tennessee. (Wade Payne/AP)
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Following the statement, Brennan was placed on leave. She is under contract through May 2027, according to the Bee. Upon returning to Fresno State, according to the report, she changed the course syllabus to disallow using electronic recording devices.
Brennan wrote about the incident last October for the Bee, saying she “never intended to mean anything beyond an opinion; however distasteful some might find it.” She spoke critically of the unnamed student who recorded her, saying it was illegal.
“What that student did by illegally recording me in class sullies the academic classroom experience for both students and faculty. I concede that my words did not represent my best self, but what that student did to the integrity of the classroom experience was far more nefarious,” she wrote.
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4 things to know about the weather:
- Some needed rain early
- Sunshine On the way
- Nice, dry weekend
- Stormy Monday
Most of the area will get at least some rain this morning but a cold front will push the rain out and bring the sunshine back by early this afternoon.
Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of VA will get the most rain (1/4” to 1/2”) while the Shenandoah Valley will be lucky to get much more than a few hundredths of an inch. Southeast Virginia is likely to get over 1” of rain. I-95 travel South of Richmond, and I-64 towards Virginia Beach, could be slowed by the rain. Here in our area, the rain will be over by noon and sunshine will be making a quick return.
Steady, northwest winds will bring much lower humidity levels and ensure a beautiful weekend for all of the Capital Pride activities and Father’s Day on Sunday.
Afternoon highs will mostly be in the low/mid 80s today and Saturday and the mid/upper 80s on Sunday.
Better still, overnight lows tonight and Saturday night will fall into the 50s north and west of Dulles Airport and the low-60s in metro D.C.
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
Clouds will return late Sunday afternoon and rain chances will arrive late Sunday night. All of the forecast models are still showing a high chance for rain for Monday into Tuesday. This doesn’t look like a blockbuster event but rain totals of around 1/2” still look like a good bet.
All of our region is still in drought with extreme drought conditions for most of central Virginia and all of the Delmarva Peninsula. That Monday storm is pretty much our best chance for rain over the next 10-14 days. Thankfully, the long range temperature outlook is for daytime highs to stay in the 80s all the way through next week.
QuickCast
TODAY:
AM showers likely
Sunny, dry after 3 p.m.
Turning less humid
Wind: northwest 10-20 mph
Chance of rain: 60%
HIGHS: 80° to 85°
TONIGHT:
Mainly clear
Nice breeze
Cooler than average
Wind: northwest 10-15 mph
Chance of rain: 0%
LOWS: 55° to 65°
SATURDAY:
Sunny skies
Breezy afternoon
Very low humidity
Wind: northwest 15-20 mph
Chance of rain: 0%
HIGHS: 78° to 85°
SUNDAY:
Increasing clouds
Seasonably warm
Showers after 11 p.m.
Wind: northwest/west 10 mph
Chance of rain: HIGHS: 85° to 90°
MONDAY:
Cloudy, breezy and humid
Rain, thunderstorms
Rainfall near 1/2” likely
Wind: southwest 15-25 mph
Chance of rain: 80%
HIGHS: 83° to 88°
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced multiple hate crime charges, as well as assault and vandalism charges against an Oakland man for an incident that happened in the Castro District last month.
On Thursday afternoon, Hans Haken pleaded not guilty to one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, one count of vandalism, one count of hit-and-run, and one count of reckless driving.
Prosecutors also allege each of the felony assault counts was a hate crime.
“In San Francisco, we have zero tolerance for any hate, hateful acts, certainly that cross the criminal line, and we will do everything that we can to protect our residents from these types of incidents,” said Jenkins at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
It was on May 16, around 5:30 p.m., when prosecutors say Haken spray-painted a homophobic slur on the wall next to Chartreuse by Roje, a gay-owned floral boutique in San Francisco’s Castro District.
“It was a reminder that even though we’re here in Castro, San Francisco, we live in this well-protected bubble that we have created very passionately and strongly, that that can still happen,” said Jeffrey Dumlao, the owner of Chartreuse by Roje. “If anything, that is what’s scary, that it happened here in broad daylight of all times.”
Dumlao says his store had already closed by that time, but Justin Donnelly, who lives above the store, heard the spray-painting and came down to confront the man and tell him to stop.
“He just became very agitated,” Donnelly said. “I tried to remain calm and just tell him, like, sir, you know, I don’t, I don’t, I’m not involved in any of that. I’m just, I live here, right, and this is, this is my home, and you know, this is vandalism.”
Donnelly says when he took a picture of Haken’s license plate, Haken got in the car and tried to run him over. Then, prosecutors say he got out of the car and punched Donnelly in the jaw while uttering homophobic slurs.
“I’m definitely doing a lot better than I was. It’s been, I don’t know, a month or so,” Donnelly said.
He says the incident has shaken him, but he’s been lifted up by the community’s support and law enforcement.
“A lot of people have said, ‘oh my god, I can’t believe something like this could happen in San Francisco, of all places.’ And the fact is that something like this can happen anywhere, but in San Francisco, we don’t stand for it, and we deal with it, so, so that makes me feel good,” Donnelly said.
In announcing the charges, Jenkins pointed out the climate in this country has become more hostile to the LGBTQ community. She says that makes it even more important for elected officials to protect that community, just like they do every other community.
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