UK employee investigated for Charlie Kirk comment has returned to work
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK reinstated employee after six-week internal investigation, reassigned.
- Employee paraphrased a Clarence Darrow line in comment on WKYT post that later went viral.
- University placed him on paid leave, then reassigned role while pay stayed unchanged.
A University of Kentucky employee who wrote a Facebook comment about Charlie Kirk’s death returned to work after a six-week investigation by the university, according to spokesperson Jay Blanton.
Brad Van Hook, who worked as UK’s key shop manager at the time he made the comment, returned to work on Oct. 28 after a six-week internal review. Blanton said he was reassigned to the position of surplus operations manager, but his compensation remains the same.
The university has no additional comment on the investigation, Blanton said.
Van Hook commented on a WKYT social media post about Kirk’s death.
“I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great satisfaction,” he wrote, paraphrasing a quote from American lawyer and civil rights advocate Clarence Darrow.
The comment went viral after an account on X called Libs of TikTok highlighted the remark in a post. Libs of TikTok has 4.5 million followers, and the post has been shared thousands of times.
Van Hook was placed on paid administrative leave while UK investigated. Blanton previously said the comment does not reflect the university’s community and was cruel, insensitive and wrong.
Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at an event on the Utah Valley University campus. Tyler Robinson is accused of killing the conservative influencer.
