A well-known right-wing social media account has criticized a California Lutheran University professor for alleged online comments about attempting to assassinate Trump, but both the educator and the school say the post in question is false.
The school says police are investigating after Libs of TikTok falsely suggested exercise science teacher Louise Kelly had made “inappropriate and intolerable” comments.
On Monday, the liberal X account reposted images that a separate, less-followed account first posted. The photos appeared to show Kelly commenting on Facebook that she wished former President Trump would be killed in a future assassination attempt and that she would do it herself if it weren't “so far away.”
According to Cal Lutheran spokesman Mark Berry, Kelly said he never made those comments and added that upon closer inspection, both the professor and the university found the image with the comments to be doctored.
The TikTok liberals tagged both Cal Lutheran and the Secret Service in their post and wrote above the original social media post, “Hey @CalLutheran is this one of your employees?” The liberals’ post received 1.3 million views by Wednesday night, sparking outrage online and in real life. Citing “social media reports,” the Ventura County Republican Party on Tuesday called for Kelly to be fired.
In a statement on social media platform X, the university said Kelly had “contacted law enforcement regarding her legal options” over the “fraudulent” comments.
“Cal Lutheran is also in communication with local authorities regarding this heinous action and subsequent comments directed at Professor Kelly and the institution,” the statement said.
Berry said Kelly was not conducting interviews.
Libs of TikTok is run by a woman named Chaya Raichik and posts right-wing, anti-trans content. According to a 2022 profile in the Washington Post, the account has been “an agenda-setter in right-wing discourse online.”
An email sent to two addresses listed on the Libs of TikTok account requesting comment was not immediately returned.
After issuing a press release on Tuesday calling for Kelly's firing, the Ventura Republican Party issued a second statement later in the day. In it, Executive Director Joe Piechowski said the party had heard back from Cal Lutheran and that, “based on what they have told us, I look forward to seeing the police investigation resolved and those responsible brought to justice.”
