Cal Lutheran officials say viral post of professor's Trump threat was a fake

A screenshot of an alleged social media post by a California Lutheran University professor went viral Monday when it appeared she called for the death of former U.S. President Donald Trump, but school officials say it's not real.

A university spokesperson said Tuesday that the post, attributed to exercise science professor Louise Kelly, is fraudulent.

"Needless to say, remarks like this are entirely inappropriate and intolerable," Mark Berry wrote in a release. "Professor Kelly has contacted the police regarding her legal options. Cal Lutheran is also in communication with local authorities regarding this egregious action and ensuing comments against Professor Kelly and the institution."

The post on social media site X included screenshots of Kelly's university bio, what appeared to be her Facebook profile and a stack of social media comments on a news story. One comment, alleged to be from Kelly, expressed hope that Saturday's assassination attempt against Trump isn't the last.

The images were originally posted by an account with a few hundred followers, then shared by a widely followed account @libsoftiktok, a right-wing social account. The second post had been shared 14,000 times and viewed countless more.

Kelly could not be reached for comment. Her online university bio was not accessible early Tuesday afternoon. An email to her university address was rejected and an attempt to call her university phone number was unsuccessful.

John Andersen, the chairman of the Ventura County Republican Party, sent a letter to university President John Nunes on Tuesday morning, prior to Cal Lutheran's public statement, calling on the university to fire Kelly.

But in a release later Tuesday, the county's GOP party Executive Director Joe Piechowski said the university had reached out to say the post had been hacked.

“We appreciate hearing back from (Cal Lutheran) so quickly," Piechowski said. "Based on what they have toldus, I look forward to seeing the resolution of the police investigation and having those responsible brought to justice."

Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @ isaiahmurtaugh and @ vcsschools . You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America .

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Cal Lutheran officials say viral post of professor's Trump threat was a fake