U of T professor Ruth Marshall has been placed on leave following a comment she made on X after the assassination of prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk last Wednesday.
The Jackman Humanities Building — where Marshall’s office is located — was temporarily closed last Thursday and Friday. Classes in the building were cancelled, relocated, or moved online after the university acted out of “an abundance of caution following online comments.” Campus safety officers were stationed at the building during the closure.
The Toronto Police Service did not respond in time for publication when asked whether they had been notified of a threat to the building or any individual.
On her now-private X account, Marshall wrote: “Shooting is honestly too good for so many of you fascist cunts.” The post appeared about an hour after US President Donald Trump announced on social media that Kirk had died.
In a statement sent to The Varsity, a university spokesperson wrote, “The University took immediate action upon learning of the concerning social media posts of a University of Toronto professor. The faculty member is now on leave and not on campus. The matter is being looked into and the University will not be commenting further.”
Marshall remains on leave as U of T continues its investigation. Her university webpages for the Departments of Religious Studies and Political Science have been taken down.
Marshall worked as an associate professor — a tenured position — and taught courses like JPR364 — Religion and Politics in the Nation State. She also served as an elected representative on U of T’s Faculty Association, and was the 2023 joint winner of the Canadian Associate of University Teachers Milner Memorial Award for academic freedom.
She was previously quoted in The Varsity as saying that U of T had a clear “double-standard” when disciplining faculty for their social media conduct, particularly those supporting Palestine.
Marshall declined The Varsity’s request for comment.
