Cal Lutheran Prof Denies Making Provocative Trump Post

The Twitterverse (Xverse?) was thrown into a paroxysm of rage late Monday after the following statement was released on one small account:

“I hope they don’t miss next time and I really this isn’t the last attempt too..I would love to do it myself if I wasn’t so far away.”

The post was taken from a Fox News comment thread on the recent attempt on once and possibly future President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, PA and reposted by the account of one Vic Mackey – handle @victhenicker, description line of “A different kind of cop.  America First” –   who had only 425 followers.

Mackey’s post has garnered 1.2 million “hits,” 2,700 “likes,” 1,100 re-posts, and 189 comments since just before 10 p.m. Monday night.  In other words, it went viral.

Those commenters, as one would expect, excoriated California Lutheran University Associate Professor Louise Kelly who allegedly posted the remark.  

But Kelly absolutely maintains that she made no such comment and she and the school believe the post was faked, possibly through her Facebook account.  She has also reported the incident to the Simi Valley Police Department for a complete investigation.

And the university is absolutely standing behind Kelly.

“The social media comment attributed to Professor Louise Kelly regarding former President Trump is fraudulent. Needless to say, remarks like this are entirely inappropriate and intolerable,” said CLU spokesman Mark Berry.  “Cal Lutheran is also in communication with local authorities regarding this egregious action and ensuing comments against Professor Kelly and the institution.”

Kelly is currently on vacation and – so far – not commenting personally on the incident.

To provide her with a bit of privacy, the school has scrubbed much of Kelly’s presence on the CLU website.  Her faculty profile is gone, her school email is now blocked, and using the school’s “dial by name” phone directory does not bring her name up.  Berry stressed that statements that say all of that means she has been fired are entirely false.

Unlike in the case of Kyle Gass – partner in Jack Black’s Tenacious D band – there is no video evidence of Kelly making the “don’t miss” statement. But the instant blowback Gass received is similar to the torrent of abuse Kelly has received – the band has cancelled the rest of its tour due to the controversy.

Kelly is a professor of exercise science and seems to focus on sports and childhood development issues.  In 2014, for example, the CLU magazine did a story on her working against childhood obesity.  The article was titled “Less Coddling, More Toddling” (note – makes sense to me.)  

She is also an “affiliated faculty” member of the school’s Sarah W. Heath Center for Equality and Justice, which “supports Cal Lutheran’s mission to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.”

The Simi Valley Police Department confirmed that it had received the report but, due to the investigation’s pending state, could not comment further.

 This is only the most recent brush CLU has had with politically-charged attention.  Last fall, donors to the Elton and Janice Gallegly Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement, began an effort to get their money back, saying the school had violated the agreements to operate the center, at least in part because the administration did not like the former congressman’s Republican/conservative politics.

In January, the faculty passed a “no confidence” resolution regarding then-CLU president President Lori Varlotta, saying her “decisions have caused reputational harm to the institution by needlessly escalating conflict and distracting from the many positive activities happening at the University;

WHEREAS the faculty have no confidence in President Varlotta’s ability to maintain and

cultivate important community and business partnerships.”

Roundly criticized for her seemingly progressive politics, Varlotta resigned in May.   

The investigation into the incident is continuing.

UPDATE:

The Simi Valley Police Department has launched an investigation following a report of fraudulent social media activity targeting a local resident. The complainant reported that an unknown individual(s) created a fake screenshot of a comment allegedly posted on a well-known news and commentary Facebook page.

This fabricated comment, which made a disparaging remark about former President Trump, was designed to appear as though it was written by the victim, who denies any involvement. The fake screenshot quickly went viral, resulting in a wave of hostile threats and messages directed at the victim through various media platforms.

Major crime detectives from the Simi Valley Police Department are actively investigating the incident. This press release intentionally omitted the victim’s and family’s identities.

The department urges the public to refrain from contacting the affected family. Anyone with information that could assist in this investigation is encouraged to contact the Simi Valley Police Department.