Toronto Professor Put on Leave After Comments on Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

People lay flowers and items in memory of Charlie Kirk at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 11, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The University of Toronto (U of T) has placed a political science and religion professor on leave after she made “concerning” comments in a social media post about the assassination of American Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

In a Sept. 10 X post, U of T professor Ruth Marshall said, “Shooting is honestly too good for so many of you fascist [expletive].” Her X account can no longer be viewed publicly.

U of T says Marshall was placed on leave after the university learned of the post.

“The University took immediate action upon learning of the concerning social media posts of a University of Toronto professor,” a U of T spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a statement on Sept. 12. “The faculty member is now on leave and not on campus.”

The university added that the matter is “being looked into,” and said it will not provide any further comments on the matter.

Ontario Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn commented on the issue, saying he has instructed U of T to take action.

“Universities and their professors are supposed to foster critical thought, respectful debate, and be safe learning environments - and this professor’s violent rhetoric flagrantly flies in the face of that,” Quinn said in a Sept. 11 post on X.

“I’ve been clear with the University of Toronto: they need to act.”

‘Deeply Offensive’

Devon Cassidy, a former employee of Legal Aid BC, made similar comments in a video that has circulated online, in which she celebrates the assassination of Kirk.

In the video, Cassidy laughs while celebrating Kirk’s death and says that “finally, finally, somebody with a gun... went and shot somebody on the right side.”

“Thank you, can we keep this up please,” she added.

Legal Aid BC says it denounces the “deeply offensive” video circulating online of its former employee.

“We are aware of a recently circulated online video featuring a former employee,” Legal Aid BC said in a Sept. 11 statement. “The video contains statements and views that are deeply offensive and do not align with the core values, principles, or mission of our organization.”

The organization says it does not share the views Cassidy expressed in the video, noting that the content would violate the organization’s policies if she were still an employee.

“We want to emphasize that the views expressed in this video are solely those of the individual and do not reflect the beliefs or stance of Legal Aid BC,” the organization said. “Our organization remains committed to upholding the highest standards of conduct and the content in question would be considered a violation of that policy.”

Although Cassidy was no longer an employee of Legal Aid BC prior to the incident, MLA Dallas Brodie has called on B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma to remove employees of publicly funded institutions who “openly advocate political violence,” and to seek “maximum accountability allowed under the law.”

“Premier David Eby must also ensure that universities and other publicly funded bodies investigate and discipline anyone fomenting radicalism by celebrating or advocating for terrorism or other lawless violence,” Brodie said in a Sept. 11 post on X.

Kirk, the founder of the conservative national student organization Turning Point USA, was speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 when he was shot in the neck and was later declared dead.

Canadian political leaders of all stripes condemned the assassination, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying he was “appalled by the murder of Charlie Kirk.”

“There is no justification for political violence and every act of it threatens democracy,” Carney said in the evening of Sept. 10.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre commented on the incident shortly after the shooting occurred, saying “We must all strongly denounce the shooting of Charlie Kirk.”

“Political violence is NEVER justified,” Poilievre said in a Sept. 10 X post. “The attacker must be brought to justice. And free speech must be upheld.”

Paul Rowan Brian contributed to this report.