DES MOINES, Iowa — Some Iowa educators who teach at the state’s public universities could face disciplinary action for making controversial comments on social media following the death of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk.

The Iowa Board of Regents addressed the issue in a statement released Friday, emphasizing that Kirk’s death “should not be celebrated.”

The statement reads:

“The Board of Regents is aware of social media posts made by employees and students following the violent and tragic death of Charlie Kirk. This should not be celebrated. These posts and others like them are offensive, insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the Board of Regents or its universities. The comments are inconsistent with the board’s values to create a civil and respectful environment at our public universities.”

-Statement from Iowa Board of Regents President Sherry Bates

The board will meet on Wednesday morning in Cedar Falls. An executive summary for a closed session states that board members plan to discuss multiple confidential matters with legal counsel. These included sensitive employee records, professional competency evaluations, and legal strategies related to ongoing or potential litigation- all topics protected under Iowa Code.

One such post is alleged to have been made by an Iowa State University staff member. A screenshot of the purported comment has made the rounds on social media. On Friday night, the employee’s contact page appeared to have been deactivated from the University’s website. A university spokesperson responded to several requests made by WHO 13 on Monday that “the university does not have any comment.” 

WHO 13 will not identify the employee until it is either confirmed by an official source or public record. WHO 13 has sent FOIA requests to both ISU and the Iowa Board of Regents.

The board is a 9-member governing body that oversees the three public universities in the state of Iowa: the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa. 

Flag Incident in Stuart under review

In a separate but similarly sensitive situation, authorities in the town of Stuart launched an investigation after the town’s fire chief reported that someone had repeatedly returned the American flag outside the fire and EMS station to full-staff, in violation of a state order.

The flag had been lowered to half-staff under the governor’s directive to honor both Charlie Kirk and the victims of the 9/11 attacks. The fire chief said the flag was raised prematurely four or five times. The act was caught on a surveillance camera that has been posted outside the fire and EMS station for several years, Chief Stephen Martinson told WHO 13’s Katie Kaplan.

Chief Martinson added that city leaders were aware of who the individual was, and that it was not a firefighter. He said he “could not confirm or deny” that the person was a city employee. EMS workers are paid employees, while the fire department is comprised of volunteers, he said.

One resident expressed frustration over it.

“I was kind of disappointed just because, obviously, that wasn’t something that we as residents of Stuart get to decide. That was elected by the Governor of Iowa,” said Katie Johnson. “That’s something that everybody should honor. I guess in my opinion, it’s about people, not about political parties or things like that.”

Chief Martinson said Stuart Mayor Dick Cook is in the process of planning a special session to address the matter. Mayor Cook did not immediately return a request for comment. M

More details are expected by the end of the week, as the investigation is likely to be brief, Chief Martinson said.