Philadelphia

Drexel Professor Put on Leave After Las Vegas Tweets Lead to Death Threats

Associate professor George Ciccariello-Maher has come under scrutiny for his tweets, again.

A Drexel University professor whose tweets suggested a link between white supremacy and the shooting massacre at a Las Vegas country music festival has been put on leave.

Associate professor George Ciccariello-Maher writes in an op-ed piece published Tuesday by The Washington Post that the Philadelphia university placed him on leave following a series of tweets about the shooting prompted death threats.

Last week, the political science and global studies professor posted a tweet reading, "It's the white supremacist patriarchy, stupid." That tweet was followed by a series of similar statements. The professor writes in the op-ed that threats came in after conservative media outlets highlighted his tweets.

Drexel says the decision was necessary to ensure campus safety.

"The safety of Drexel’s students, faculty, professional staff and police officers are of paramount concern to Drexel," the university said in a statement supplied to NBC10. "Due to a growing number of threats directed at Professor George Ciccariello-Maher, and increased concerns about both his safety and the safety of Drexel’s community, after careful consideration the University has decided to place Professor Ciccariello-Maher on administrative leave. We believe this is a necessary step to ensure the safety of our campus."

The professor hasn't responded to an emailed request for additional comment.

This is at least the third time in the past year that Ciccariello-Maher has come under fire for his tweets including one about "trying not to vomit" after seeing a soldier get a first-class seat on a plane and his "White Genocide" Christmas tweet.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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