Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke at the University of North Texas, honoring Charlie Kirk’s legacy – and commending a student who faced payback for doing the same.

Paxton spoke for UNT’s Turning Point USA chapter in the Lyceum Theater, in the university union, on November 10. Speakers also included Sara Gonzales of The Blaze and Junior Mary-Catherine Hallmark, who faced retaliation for standing up for Kirk after his assassination, as The Dallas Express reported. 

“There’s been a little controversy here,” Paxton said. “I’m really so appreciative of Mary-Catherine, her courage, and the courage of other students that are willing to stand up and exercise the right to free speech.” 

Hallmark went viral shortly after Kirk’s assassination, after recording a video showing UNT peers celebrating the shooting, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. When she objected, Professor Kiet Huynh allegedly asked her to leave the class. 

After this, UNT students began sending Hallmark death threats, as The Dallas Express exclusively reported. The school failed to take any immediate action.

“There is a lot of pressure on campuses not to have certain views. They’re looked down upon, often, by professors,” Paxton said. “That’s why I appreciate so much what Mary Catherine did by speaking out against speech that was actually calling for the death of a president, or celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk. That’s free speech, but also, it’s sickening.”

As Paxton exited the stage, some individuals in the audience yelled “bigot,” “murderer,” and “f*ck you.” Before the event, naysayers were discussing plans to protest on Reddit. 

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Paxton wrote to UNT President Harrison Keller on September 19, seeking answers. However, Hallmark stated that the school had still not taken any action. So the attorney general demanded that UNT expel the students who had been threatening her. 

Paxton launched an investigation into UNT on October 16, as The Dallas Express exclusively reported. He cited previous reporting on the school by DX, saying it had been “overrun by left-wing extremists.”

UNT officials eventually agreed to protect Hallmark, according to Texas Scorecard. But it was unclear whether the school had disciplined the students who celebrated Kirk’s assassination. 

When Hallmark took the stage, she shared her experience standing up for Kirk in the classroom. 

“I could not and would not remain silent in this moment while hatred and violence of the radical left were being cheered. For simply standing up for what’s right in this classroom, the instructor asked me to leave,” she said. “That moment exposed exactly what is happening in our university today.”

Since then, UNT has taken no further action to assist until people like Paxton, Congressman Brandon Gill, and state Rep. Andy Hopper intervened, according to Hallmark. 

“UNT’s silence has made one thing clear – their so-called neutrality is nothing more than a quiet approval of the radical left’s agenda,” she said. “I have been harassed and threatened simply for my beliefs, for which no one should be harassed. I have had police escorts take me to class, just where I’ll feel safe and my family and others around me feel safe.”

Hallmark contrasted the founders’ vision for American education as a center for open debate and critical thinking with the current approach – “indoctrination centers for leftist ideologies.”

“Think about that – a student in America in 2025, having to alter her education just because I stood up for one day,” she said. “What’s happening at UNT and at many universities across this country is the suppression of conservative voices under the false banner of tolerance.” 

Hallmark said she is working closely with one of Paxton’s attorneys to ensure no future conservative student will ever have to share the same experience. 

“I will not give up. But I know that the light overcomes the darkness, and as long as we continue to stand, to speak, and believe in the values that build this nation – freedom, faith, and courage – we will prevail,” she said. 

Gonzales, host of Sara Gonzales Unfiltered on The Blaze, also spoke during the event. She described the nation’s political environment in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.

“A man that I knew was publicly executed by a radical leftist, and it was quite a terrifying moment for me. I assume it was quite a terrifying moment for a lot of you, specifically on campus, to watch the reaction,” she said. “Since then, it really has never been more clear that we are still very much in a battle with good and evil.”

This had been developing for years, according to Gonzales. As The Dallas Express reported, numerous leftists publicly celebrated Kirk’s assassination – a similar theme to what the activist had described just months before as a growing “assassination culture.” 

Gonzales also pointed to socialist Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory for mayor of New York City, when some students erupted in screeches and cheers. She cited a new “red-green alliance,” a documented convergence of radical leftism with political Islam.

“Mamdani is actually so perfectly representative of what we’re up against, because it’s not just Marxism, it’s also Islam,” she said. “Instead of voting for values that represent America, they come in and they vote for values antithetical to America.”

She asked for a show of hands on how many students have been called “literally Hitler,” or been told they have “toxic masculinity.” Numerous hands shot up.

“You reject the labels entirely,” Gonzales said. “You guys are the turning point. You guys are the generation that can help us turn things around, as long as you are courageous and bold.”

After Paxton left the stage, Anthony Vita – TPUSA UNT president – took to the podium. Hecklers erupted from the crowd, one yelling “fat f*ck” and another yelling “f*ck you, Anthony.”

“Two months ago, the life of Charlie Kirk was cut short by a coward’s bullet,” he started – when a student yelled “womp womp.”

“A wife lost a husband, and two children lost a father,” Vita continued. “I dare you to stand up when someone tells you to sit down… Get involved in your local state, in federal politics. But most importantly, do not let them take your voice from you.”

Vita told The Dallas Express he was happy with the turnout. He said the chapter always welcomes “honest and open dialogue,” so long as it stays respectful.

“Which they were not – they just kept interrupting each and every single one of us, trying to trip us up,” Vita said. “But you know what? That just shows you who the tolerant left is.”

Paxton emphasized the 1st Amendment’s protection of free speech.

“Whatever your views are in this country, as long as you’re not expressing things that will hurt other people, you have every right to express your views,” Paxton said. “That was what Charlie Kirk believed in.”