Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge is applauding the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for firing a law professor who posted a series of offensive social media messages justifying the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk last month, including likening mourners to Ku Klux Klansmen.
Rutledge told Newsmax on Wednesday she was “pleased with the outcome.”
Felicia Branch, who joined the university’s Bowen School of Law in July 2025, was placed on suspension in mid-September after the posts surfaced.
Chancellor Christina Drale on Oct. 13 upheld Branch’s termination following an internal review, calling her conduct a “serious breach of professional standards.”
Rutledge, speaking on “National Report,” said she was “extraordinarily disturbed” by the professor’s comments.
“She was likening supporters of Charlie Kirk to Klansmen, stating that his death was justified,” Rutledge said.
“That’s not how a state employee or an educator should lead. This professor has no business educating students in Arkansas.”
In another post, Branch said she would “not pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace,” adding that the “world is a little more balanced” after Kirk’s death.
“Well, it is beyond shocking and disturbing that anyone would have those thoughts, and particularly someone in a position to educate and to lead the future attorneys of Arkansas and of America.”
“And that’s why I called on that investigation, because that sort of dangerous, violent rhetoric has no business from anyone but particularly from an educational leader,” Rutledge said.
Rutledge praised university leaders for acting swiftly after her call for an investigation, saying dangerous ideology “has no place in the classroom.”
“We must not replace our ballots with bullets,” she said. “Regardless of political beliefs, we all need to eliminate this sort of violent talk.”
She added, “All of us will be held accountable for such dangerous talk. And so you may have the right to say something, but the public university also has the right to terminate you.”
Rutledge also addressed tensions over soybean exports amid the renewed U.S.-China trade dispute.
A farmer’s daughter, she noted the strain on Arkansas growers as Beijing cut back on purchases of American soybeans.
“It’s frustrating for our Arkansas soybean farmers, like my family, when we can’t access that market,” Rutledge said.
“Americans have become reliant on the Chinese market to buy our soybeans, and so we want to look for other avenues.”
She voiced support for President Donald Trump’s approach to renegotiating trade leverage, including using the import of Chinese used cooking oil as a bargaining tool.
“This is why we must have a negotiating tool … [for] President Trump to go to the table and say, ‘We’re not going to take your used cooking oil if you’re not going to buy our soybeans.'”
“Those policies weren’t in place during [former President] Joe Biden’s administration. And President Trump is trying to get us out of this mess that Joe Biden created,” Rutledge said.
GET TODAY :
is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the channel on your cable system –
Sign up for and get , our streaming channel and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials. Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch on your smartphone or home TV app. Watch anytime, anywhere!
Start your now:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
