Students at the University of North Texas are threatening a peer who exposed celebrations of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, The Dallas Express has learned. Attorney General Ken Paxton is now calling on UNT to expel those responsible.

“All of the universities across the state are holding their students and faculty members accountable, but mine isn’t,” said UNT junior Mary-Catherine Hallmark to The Dallas Express. “Why?”

In a statement to The Dallas Express on September 26, Paxton demanded UNT President Harrison Keller take action against those threatening Hallmark.

“President Keller and UNT must not ignore an environment of leftist political intimidation and violence,” Paxton said to The Dallas Express. “All radicalized students making these threats must be expelled and punished.”

The Dallas Express learned from sources on background that Hallmark’s situation and UNT have been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation.

Hallmark’s classmates were laughing at a video of the bullet striking Kirk, the cofounder of Turning Point USA, just minutes after it happened on Sept. 10. When she objected, Professor Kiet Huynh allegedly asked her to leave the class.

Hallmark’s video went viral – racking up 13.3 million views at the time of publication. Paxton wrote Keller on Sept. 19, as The Dallas Express previously reported, demanding the school expand its investigation.

But Hallmark said UNT has done “nothing” since Paxton’s first letter. She added that since the incident, she has received repeated threats. When Hallmark approached a campus police officer about this, according to evidence obtained by The Dallas Express, he apparently dismissed the threats.

“Our schools cannot be allowed to remain incubators of leftist extremism,” Paxton said to The Dallas Express. “My office will continue to investigate this situation and explore every legal option to stop leftist extremism.”

The Dallas Express reached out to UNT media relations, but they did not comment in time for publication.

Celebrating Assassination

Hallmark arrived at class 10 minutes early the day of Kirk’s assassination. She heard another student asking others if they heard about the shooting.

“I knew this was going to be bad,” Hallmark said. 

The student started telling others that Kirk was “a bigot, he’s transphobic, he’s homophobic, he says ‘f– abortion.’” According to Hallmark, the student started yelling things like:

“I hope this happened,’ ‘they need to go after Trump next,’ ‘I’m so glad that if he dies, the kids grow up without a father and the wife can go to bed at night without a husband.’” 

So Hallmark objected, as The Dallas Express previously reported.

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“Why are we cheering for someone getting shot?” she asked. “No matter what political beliefs are, we should not be cheering that someone got shot. He has a family.”

She said the professor, Huynh, had been in the room for at least five minutes at that point.

“He knows what’s going on, seeing all this happen in front of him,” Hallmark said. “He finally comes up, and he walks up to me – not to her – and he says, ‘You should probably take this outside.’ And then giggles.”

So Hallmark left the class, and eventually made her way to the office of Psychology Chair Donald Dougherty. 

She told him what happened, and he allegedly responded with something like the following:

“Well, I can talk to your professor about getting the grade off, but that’s up to him… I can also just have him send out a friendly reminder to the class that that behavior should be left outside of the classroom.”

She stared at him. 

“He was just like, ‘Well, that’s really all I can do.’”

The Dallas Express reached out to Huynh and Dougherty for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Threats

After Hallmark’s video gained traction, peers began threatening her on anonymous app “Yik Yak.” 

“You get in this huge group chat, and it has no user name, so you can post basically whatever you want with no consequences,” Hallmark said. “I was now getting threats from students on campus.”

The Dallas Express has obtained copies of several threats toward Hallmark.

“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.

Another called to “organize a boxing match between the UNT Pisser and Charlie Kirk girl.” A user that went by “theuntpisser” replied, “hell yeah.”

Yet another user wished Hallmark would get a sexually-transmitted disease. Others labeled her “the Charlie Kirk lover.” Still more called for violence against members of the TPUSA chapter, of which Hallmark is a member.

“turning point im warning u dont come here…” 

“I should be allowed to punch and/or spit at the toilet paper usa freaks at least once with zero consequences.”

In the wake of Kirk’s assassination, The Dallas Express uncovered radical groups at UNT promoting violent rhetoric. And earlier this summer, the outlet discovered communist propaganda on campus, glorifying Luigi Mangione – the alleged assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 

Seeking Accountability

Hallmark reached out to Associate Dean Kacey Sebeniecher.

“At this point, there’s too many threats,” she said. “This is not safe for me.”

But Sebeniecher simply recommended she drop the class or transfer, according to Hallmark. 

“Why are you treating me like I’m the one that caused all of this? Why am I having to drop the class or move classes?” Hallmark told her. “That’s not fair to me, I’m not the student in the wrong here.” 

Sebeniecher allegedly replied with something like, “Well, that’s the only solution that I have.”

The Dallas Express reached out to the Dean of Students’ office for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

So Hallmark brought the threats to campus police. The Dallas Express obtained a recording of the interaction, where an officer apparently dismissed the concerns. 

“We talked yesterday, and my understanding so far, the only thing that has changed from yesterday’s interview to today is that you looked at Yik Yak,” the officer said. 

She confirmed this. The officer asked her to point to examples of threats, and she did – and he dismissed most of them.

“We’re going to do this every time, so I’m really not trying to interrupt – I’m trying to get you to explain to me, what does this mean as far as physical harm goes,” he said. 

The officer asked if she thought UNT was dismissing the situation. She said yes, since the school had not taken any action.

“I’m going to have to deal with you the rest of my career, I guarantee it,” he told her.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“It means that I guarantee you’re going to call me for something else, whether it’s to give me an update on things, or whatever,” he said. “It happens every time. It’s experience talking. You may not know, because I’m calling it out.”

A mental health counselor, who was also in the room, jumped in – “That is rough wording, but he means well… I know what you [the officer] meant, but the wording is rough.”

“What you just stated – God bless, that was terrible,” Hallmark replied.

Republican state Reps. Andy Hopper and Shelley Luther stood with Hallmark at the Denton County Courthouse on September 23.

Still, Hallmark said nothing has changed at UNT. She said friends had to escort her across campus for safety when she attended recent TPUSA events. “Friends come and pick me up from my car, walk me to the tabling, and then walk me back to my car to make sure I make it out alive.” 

She said several UNT students have reached out, sharing similar experiences in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. Hallmark told anyone in the same situation to trust God.

“I’ve never been one to speak up, so this is very new for me. So this is hard, but I’m learning a lot,” Hallmark said. “Don’t let anyone tear you down for standing up for what’s right. Don’t back down, don’t let them silence you.”

Hallmark called on public officials to make things right – “Please hold everyone at the school accountable for their actions, because it’s just getting swept under the rug.”