People visit a memorial set up in honor of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps/Utah News Dispatch)
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson signed onto a letter released Friday that urges college leaders to defend free speech and “say no to the ‘Assassin’s Veto.’”
The letter led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird cautions college officials against stifling free speech and debate in the name of protecting it through unfair or disproportionate security measures and costs.
“Particularly at this moment, it is critical our state institutions of higher learning serve as forums for robust debate from all perspectives,” Bird wrote in the letter addressed to “presidents and deans of universities and colleges.” “The campus should be the very place where the First Amendment rings loudest for all to hear.”
It follows the Iowa Board of Regents directing public universities to quickly investigate and censure, up to job termination, employees alleged to have posted comments celebrating the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In South Carolina, an opinion by Wilson cleared the way for college officials to fire employees for their posts.
Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University as he debated with students at an outside event.
“The tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a sobering reminder that the right to free speech must be protected,” Bird said in a press release on the letter. “Charlie was murdered while debating on a university campus, a place where the free exchange of ideas should be encouraged; we cannot allow the actions of an assassin to stop free speech in any way. Colleges and universities must take steps to keep their students safe while preserving free discussion and open debate.”
Citing 1992 U.S. Supreme Court case Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, the letter stated that requiring “exorbitant” security fees for certain groups or events based on the content or viewpoint expressed by the speech can go against the First Amendment.
The letter cited the University of New Mexico’s attempt in 2023 to impose security fees totaling more than $5,000 on Turning Point USA — co-founded by Kirk — for an event that October hosted by the organization featuring former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, an outspoken opponent of transgender women competing in women’s sports. A judge issued a preliminary injunction against the college for the fees, the letter stated.
University security policies must be transparent and nondiscriminatory, the letter stated, and security fees must be decided upon in a “content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral manner.” Facility use policies should follow these rules as well, and ensuring the safety of eventgoers and participants should be handled by the institution rather than act as a barrier for certain types of speech, it added.
If universities advertise themselves as being open for public speech and debate, placing more scrutiny and fees on conservative speakers and events — or refusing to host them altogether — while not doing the same for politically neutral or liberal speakers could also violate state Consumer Fraud Acts or Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices laws, the letter stated.
“Universities shouldn’t shut down free speech on campus because of potential danger but should be encouraging civil discourse and condemning political violence at all levels. I believe that’s what Charlie would have wanted, and it’s what I want as well,” Wilson wrote in a release about the letter.
He signed on days after publicly releasing a letter to Clemson University President James Clements making clear that colleges in South Carolina could fire employees over their social media posts about Kirk’s death without risking prosecution. A South Carolina law dating to 1950 makes it illegal to “discharge a citizen from employment or occupation” because of their “political opinions or the exercise of political rights and privileges guaranteed to every citizen.”
While Wilson guaranteed in his letter Monday that the state wouldn’t pursue charges for terminating employees for social media posts he called “vile and incendiary,” he noted fired workers could still sue if they believe their free speech rights were violated.
At least four employees of South Carolina public colleges have been fired since Monday for posts about Kirk, including three at Clemson and one at Coastal Carolina.
In Bird’s letter, the attorneys general pledged to “fully and fairly investigate” colleges in their state for any complaint about unfair security fees or protocols.
Beyond Wilson, the 15 other attorneys general signing onto Bird’s letter are from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah.
“We trust that you will continue to take steps to keep your campuses safe,” the letter stated. “And we also trust that you won’t use safety as a pretext to silence debate, at a time when it is sorely needed.”
SC Daily Gazette Editor Seanna Adcox contributed to this report.
Like the SC Daily Gazette, Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.