Just to be clear, the Republican students in this case did absolutely nothing wrong.
University of Utah Drops Investigation Into College Republicans, Apologizes
The University of Utah has dropped its investigations into two College Republicans accused of doxing a fellow student for bringing a cake celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death to campus.
On Thursday, the institution confirmed it had dismissed accountability inquiries into Rylie Barnes, vice president of the university’s chapter of College Republicans, and Riley Beesley, chairman of the chapter. In a letter to one of the students, the dean of students apologized for the turmoil the investigation caused.
On Sept. 10, the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s murder on the campus of Utah Valley University, Barnes posted an image of a student holding a cake saying “Happy Kirkiversary.” “What is wrong with students in Utah??” Barnes wrote.
The post has more than six million views and received widespread attention from right-wing pundits online, including one account that identified the student and gave personal information about her and supposedly her father’s name and employer. A number on the right, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, shared the post and the student’s personal information.
A day later, the student, Sara Larsen, apologized for the stunt on X, saying, “Upon reflection, it was wrong for me to celebrate, or perpetuate the celebration of, Charlie Kirk’s death. I apologize for doing so sincerely.”
In an official statement, the College Democrats of the University of Utah said in the wake of the online backlash Larsen had to delete several of her accounts, is “unable to go to campus” and “fears for her family’s safety.”
On Sept. 15, the university notified Barnes and Beesley about anonymous complaints it had received alleging their social media posts amounted to doxing, or revealing private information online, against other students.
Barnes and Beesley claimed on social media that the university had threatened to expel them, sparking more outcry from the right. Utah Senator Mike Lee called the investigation “indefensible.” Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, posted on X, “Utah … wth is going on over there.”
The letters sent to Barnes and Beeseley, the institution said Thursday, were “routine notifications of the claims and sought to set up meetings with staff to discuss the allegations.”
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