KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - United Campus Workers, Tennessee’s higher education union, hosted a rally on Knoxville’s University of Tennessee campus Wednesday, demanding Dr. Tamar Shirinian be reinstated and calling for protections over freedom of speech.

The university has made moves to fire Shirinian over comments she made in September about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s death. Shirinian called Kirk and his wife “disgusting psychopaths” and said their children were in a better world without him in it on Facebook. The comments sparked outrage from conservatives online, including U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett and Tennessee Rep. Jason Zachary.

Previous Coverage: UT assistant professor facing firing over posts about Charlie Kirk’s death

United Campus Workers is made up of faculty, staf

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