Wake professor resigns 'for personal reasons' after inflammatory X post
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A Wake Forest University professor has resigned after posting content on social media that defended Hamas’ violent terror attack against civilian music festival attendees in the early morning hours of October 7.
Dr. Laura Mullen, Kenan Chair of the Humanities, English & Creative Writing at Wake Forest University, "has resigned for personal reasons" and will continue teaching through the end of the semester, the university told The Wake Report. Mullen came under fire after she posted on X that she "could be tempted to shoot up your dance party," signaling she empathized with the Hamas terrorists that killed hundreds at the festival during the October 7 mass attack in southern Israel.
"So it’s kind of a Duh but if you turn me out of my house plow my olive groves under and confine what’s left of my family to the small impoverished state you run as an open air prison I could be tempted to shoot up your dance party yeah even knowing you will scorch the earth," Mullen wrote on X.
Dr. Laura Mullen, Kenan Chair of the Humanities, English & Creative Writing at Wake Forest University, "has resigned for personal reasons." ((Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images))
Mullen originally said her words were "raw, direct, [and] poetic, in that it involved imagery," but deleted the post after a week, explaining the university told her it "may be making things harder on the Muslim population," according to The Wake Report.
On October 17, the university issued a statement that "as a matter of principle," it affirmed "the right to individual freedom of expression," even if they "do not condone or support the views expressed in these posts." But, Mullen complained that Wake Forest threw her "out to the wolves" based on how they handled the situation, The Wake Report reported.
"[The University statement] is like if you watch animal films and you isolate one gazelle, that’s the one that gets eaten. They kind of threw me to the wolves," Mullen said.
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Similar statements have been made by professors at other universities. A professor at Emory University is no longer employed after wishing "Glory to all resistance fighters."
On October 17, the Wake Forest University issued a statement that "as a matter of principle," it affirmed "the right to individual freedom of expression," even if they "do not condone or support the views expressed in these posts." ((Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images))
In addition, a Cornell University professor who said he was "exhilarated" and "energized" by Hamas' attack on Israel, the largest murder of Jews since the Holocaust, is currently on leave amid the media firestorm sparked by his comments.
College campuses have become ground zero for debate about the Israel-Hamas war in recent weeks. Students at New York University and across New York City have been caught on camera tearing down posters of kidnapped Israeli hostages and Cornell University's Jewish population faced violent online threats that prompted an FBI investigation.
Mullen and Wake Forest University did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
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Kendall Tietz is a Production Assistant with Fox News Digital.
