Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into the University of North Texas for allegedly failing to discipline students who celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk and threatened their peers, The Dallas Express has learned.
“In the face of left-wing terror being celebrated and the threatening of students, UNT leadership has chosen to do next to nothing. That’s outrageous,” Paxton said. “I will continue to investigate this matter and use the full weight of this office to stop this madness.”
Paxton has sent another letter to UNT President Harrison Keller, demanding to know why the school has refused to hold students accountable, the attorney general’s office exclusively told The Dallas Express.
The attorney general previously sent a letter to the university demanding expulsions of students who threatened a peer for defending Kirk, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Paxton’s office said the university’s response was “abysmal,” prompting the new investigation.
Celebrating Assassination
Just minutes after an assassin shot Kirk – the founder of Turning Point USA – on a college campus September 10, Junior Mary-Catherine Hallmark’s classmates began laughing at a video of the murder, as The Dallas Express reported. When she objected, Professor Kiet Huynh allegedly asked her to leave.
BREAKING – A University of North Texas student is going viral for confronting classmates who were passing around a video of Charlie Kirk dying while laughing, and says the professor singled her out and asked her to leave class. pic.twitter.com/tNn9riEtrW
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) September 11, 2025
Hallmark’s video of the incident went viral. Paxton wrote Keller on Sept. 19, as The Dallas Express previously reported, demanding the school expand its investigation.
“For too long, schools across the country have ignored complaints of misconduct against left-wing students,” Paxton wrote at the time. “This lack of disciplinary action has reinforced a principle that such conduct is appropriate and, in turn, has contributed to radicalizing individuals to engage in reprehensible actions.”
Keller replied that he appreciated Paxton’s concerns and said the school takes misconduct allegations seriously.
“We are currently conducting a thorough review of recent actions by a few of our community members,” Keller wrote at the time. “I am committed to ensuring UNT provides a safe learning and working environment for all of our UNT students and our community.”
Threatening Peers
But Hallmark later told The Dallas Express that UNT had done nothing further and since the incident, she has received numerous threats on the anonymous app YikYak, which is popular among students.
“If I see this girl on campus I’m throwing hands I do not give a f*ck,” one anonymous user posted.
“I would gladly do the same. Trip her lmao,” another replied.
“Rob her ass like she robbed us,” another added.
Other users labeled her “the Charlie Kirk lover.” Still more called for violence against members of the TPUSA chapter, of which Hallmark is a member. “I should be allowed to punch and/or spit at the toilet paper usa freaks at least once with zero consequences.”
After learning of these threats, Paxton demanded UNT expel and punish the students responsible, as The Dallas Express exclusively reported. His office said the university had failed to take any additional action as of publication.
Another video soon went viral soon after Kirk’s assassination, showing a UNT student stealing and destroying TPUSA materials on campus, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.
Soon after, The Dallas Express uncovered radical “militant” left-wing groups at UNT, promoting violent rhetoric. Earlier this summer, the outlet discovered communist propaganda on campus, glorifying Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The group behind the propaganda, Revolutionary Communists of America, had recruited dozens of UNT students.
Paxton’s office told The Dallas Express that these groups were using increasingly violent rhetoric against others – and that UNT had done nothing in response.
“Thus far, there has been zero school officials fired, zero students expelled, and zero accountability from UNT as the campus is overrun by left-wing extremists violently threatening anyone who disagrees with them,” Paxton said.