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On September 10, 2025, Michael Hook, a tenured art professor at the University of South Dakota, commented on Facebook about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. He called Kirk a “hate spreading Nazi” and asked why people did not express similar concern about other high profile violent incidents. Hook regretted the post and deleted it, but South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden and Speaker of the House Jon Hansen shared screenshots of the post on X, calling on USD to fire Hook. In response, the Board of Regents voted to terminate Hook. On September 23, Hook filed suit in federal district court to block USD from terminating him, arguing that his social media comment was First Amendment-protected speech. ��֭����  the news of the lawsuit on social media. On September 24, the court granted Hook a temporary restraining order, blocking USD from firing him while his legal case progresses in court.