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Arkansas AG Griffin pressured university into firing Black law professor Felicia Branch over Charlie Kirk posts

On September 24, 2025, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Bowen School of Law fired assistant professor Felicia Branch over Facebook posts about Charlie Kirk's killing, days after Attorney General Tim Griffin issued a press release demanding her immediate termination. Branch, who is Black, had been suspended with pay since September 16; Dean Colin Crawford's termination letter cited "disruption" caused in part by complaints from Griffin, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge.

Jurisdiction
Arkansas
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Tim Griffin (Arkansas Attorney General)
  • Colin Crawford (Dean, UA Little Rock Bowen School of Law)
  • University of Arkansas at Little Rock

On September 24, 2025, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Bowen School of Law fired assistant professor Felicia Branch over Facebook posts she made about the September 10 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Branch, who is Black, had written that she would "not pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace" and compared people mourning Kirk's death to members of the Ku Klux Klan. The posts drew complaints to university administrators from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, and Attorney General Tim Griffin, among others. On September 16, Griffin issued a press release stating "the law school should terminate her immediately," arguing that "protections for scholarship offer no reason for an employer to tolerate an employee unabashedly celebrating political assassination." UALR suspended Branch with pay that same day and opened an investigation. Bowen School of Law Dean Colin Crawford's September 24 termination letter cited "a torrent of complaints" from students, parents, alumni, and the officials named above as causing "serious disruption to the efficient operation" of the school, and said Branch's conduct violated university standards of professionalism.

Branch, hired in July 2025 to direct the school's Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, had taught tax law since that month. She appealed her dismissal to a UALR Faculty Appeals Council panel.

Updates

2025-10-13 — Chancellor upheld firing over faculty panel's recommendation [2, 3]

A UALR Faculty Appeals Council panel decided on October 9, 2025 against terminating Branch, with a majority finding her posts "a mistake" that warranted a warning rather than dismissal. UALR Chancellor Christina Drale rejected the panel's recommendation in a letter sent October 13, 2025, upholding Crawford's decision and telling Branch she did not see "a pathway where she continues to teach at the Bowen School of Law."

2026-05-26 — Branch sued UALR officials and Griffin over the firing [4]

Branch filed a federal lawsuit against UALR officials and Attorney General Griffin in his individual capacity, alleging First Amendment retaliation over her termination.

Why we recorded this

Free expression is undermined when a state's top law-enforcement officer publicly demands an employer fire someone over protected speech, and the employer complies. The Arkansas Attorney General used his office to call for a public-university professor's immediate termination over Facebook posts about Charlie Kirk's killing, and the university fired her days later, overriding its own faculty appeals panel. This archive records when government officials wield their institutional authority to pressure the punishment of speech they dislike, rather than leaving such disputes to ordinary employment or academic-freedom processes.

Sources

  1. Attorney General Griffin Calls for Termination of UALR Law School Professor — Arkansas Attorney General's Office primary accessed July 9, 2026
  2. University of Arkansas at Little Rock fires law school professor over Charlie Kirk comments — Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette primary accessed July 9, 2026
  3. UALR fires Black woman professor over Charlie Kirk posts, despite panel recommendation not to — Arkansas Times secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  4. Law professor sues UALR officials, Arkansas attorney general over her firing for Charlie Kirk posts — Arkansas Democrat-Gazette secondary accessed July 9, 2026

See also