Art History Professor Placed on Leave Over Charlie Kirk Posts

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Karen Leader (front) was placed on “administrative leave” after right-wing social media accounts targeted her comments on Charlie Kirk. Still, they were quickly targeted by right-wing individuals on social media, who tagged the university. A letter from FAU’s Department of Visual Arts and Art History, obtained by Hyperallergic, notified Leader last Saturday that she would be placed on paid leave related to her social media conduct pending an investigation. One of Leader’s posts, dated September 11, read, “The predictable ‘blame the professors’ narrative is full circle, Charlie ‘Professor Watchlist’ Kirk. Leader also annotated a series of X posts from September 11 and 12, republishing them with the caption “This was Charlie Kirk.” The posts she recirculated critiqued Kirk’s anti-LBGTQ+ and racist comments.