Identity of Speakers
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Caitlyn Spencer
Faculty/Staff
OtherFinancial aid advisor at Iowa State University
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Social media
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Staff Sanctioned
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Incident Status:
No litigation
Other
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
Iowa State University terminated Caitlyn Spencer, a financial aid advisor, on September 23, 2025, following a social media post that expressed satisfaction over the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In her post, Spencer wrote that Kirk “got what was coming” and added that she was “happy he’s rotting in hell now.” The university determined that her comments caused significant disruption to its operations, leading to her dismissal.
The incident followed Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, and prompted the Iowa Board of Regents to direct all state universities to investigate similar social media posts by employees. The Board required that investigations be completed within two weeks and authorized university presidents to take immediate action, including termination, if policy violations were found.
The controversy attracted political attention, with Iowa lawmakers calling for the dismissal of any university employees who publicly celebrated Kirk’s death. Governor Kim Reynolds condemned such expressions as “disgusting and unconscionable” and emphasized the importance of maintaining professional standards in educational institutions. The situation occurred amid a series of similar controversies at universities nationwide following Kirk’s death.
