Penn State police investigating violent anti-ICE flyer on University Park campus
.JPG "A Penn State police car is pictured in this file photo.")
Penn State police are investigating a flyer on the University Park campus that depicts a hanging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and reads, “Dead ICE agents can’t kill.”
In an email, Colleen Mastony, assistant vice president for strategic communications at Penn State, confirmed the investigation to the Centre Daily Times.
“Penn State condemns this and any calls for violence or attempts to frighten or intimidate. We are aware of this image circulating online, and University Police and Public Safety is investigating,” Mastony said.
Although the poster may offend some people, it is protected free speech, FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), a nonprofit based in Philadelphia focused on defending freedom of speech, said.
“The anti-ICE poster is clearly protected by the First Amendment. As a public university, Penn State University may not investigate students or student groups merely because administrators or other students object to the views expressed by a poster,” FIRE program officer Charlotte Arneson said in a written statement.
The Penn State College Republicans posted a picture of the flyer, along with a statement on Friday that accused a member of the Penn State Democrats of posting a photo of the flyer on their social media. The College Republicans called on the College Democrats to condemn the calls for violence and to denounce the actions of the person who shared the picture.
“This is not a matter of partisan disagreement, but of basic standards of decency and safety within our campus community. We steadfastly defend the free speech of any America; this moves beyond pure advocacy and into the realm of criminal threats. As we stated in September and countless times before: ‘Political violence of any kind is sickening and has no place in our nation.’ We hope to see them do the right thing,” the statement reads in part.
The Penn State College Democrats did not respond to an inquiry from the CDT. But the College Republicans in a separate social media post said they received word that the individual is no longer part of the College Democrats.
“Further more, PSU College Dems have stated that they do not condone violence of any kind and do not agree with what was posted,” the post states.
The College Republicans also called for an investigation into who posted the flyers around campus, and for them to be held accountable. The Penn State College Republicans’ post on X has been shared close to 3,000 times and has received attention from people like Scott Presler, a conservative activist, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina, and “Libs of TikTok,” a popular far-right social media account.
It’s unclear how many flyers were placed, or where they were located.
The calls for violence against federal officers are unacceptable under any circumstances, the College Republicans’ statement says, and this type of rhetoric and speech creates an environment where people believe it’s OK to commit violent acts against ICE officers and those who support their efforts.
“History has shown that dehumanizing rhetoric and explicit calls for violence do not remain confined to online spaces, but instead have real-world consequences that endanger lives.”
