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Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Trump administration has intensified the bipartisan New McCarthyism, compelling willing government, corporate, and institutional bosses to censure, suspend, and fire workers for exercising their First Amendment rights across the country. In one of the worst instances, Texas State University fired tenured professor Tom Alter in September for the “crime” of speaking at an online socialist conference. Far right grifter and self-declared “anti-communist cult leader” Karlyn Borysenko violated the conference’s protocols, recorded Alter’s speech, edited it to distort his comments, and shared her doctored video on social media, which then went viral. University President Kelly Damphousse responded by summarily firing Alter without due process, violating his First Amendment rights and academic freedom. After a judge ruled that Texas State University had violated Alter’s rights and issued a restraining order, the university temporarily reinstated him. But, in October, the university held a due process hearing, issued a ruling against Alter, and fired him again. He is now appealing its decision to Texas’s Board of Regents. Alter is a beloved teacher, a member of the Texas State Employees Union, and the author of the widely acclaimed book Toward a Cooperative Commonwealth: The Transplanted Roots of Farmer-Labor Radicalism in Texas. In this interview for Truthout, Alter discusses his firing as well as the campaign to reinstate him with full pay and benefits and without censure or restrictions. The interview that follows has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Ashley Smith: You were recently summarily fired without due process by Texas State University for speaking on your own time and own capacity at a socialist conference. After a judge ruled the university had violated your rights, Texas State temporarily reinstated you. But then the president held a due process hearing and fired you again. How did the president justify such a violation of your First Amendment rights and academic freedom? Tom Alter: In his October 13 dismissal letter, Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse justified my firing on grounds that threaten not only academic freedom but civil rights in general. He claimed my remarks at the online socialism conference called for building a revolutionary socialist party with, according to Damphousse, “the purpose of overthrowing the United States Government, and they provide a roadmap for doing so.” He admits, “while this type of activism in itself, if undertaken on your own personal time and without reference to your role as an associate professor at Texas State University, likely would not constitute serious misconduct, I find that your recorded remarks … implicate Texas State” and that “disruption of university operations, the destruction of university property, and acts of violence on university campuses across our country are real. The threat of these activities to the Texas State campus community is also real.” There are two things at play here by Damphousse that do not line up with the facts. First, I did not call for overthrowing the U.S. government. My talk was largely about different forms of working-class organization and struggle. As part of this, I posed the question, for those engaged in direct action tactics in a future hypothetical revolutionary situation, of “How does one expect to overthrow the U.S. government without organization?” Secondly, the sole piece of evidence Damphousse cites is a YouTube video of my online conference talk edited by a self-described fascist. Conference organizers and I went to extra efforts so that conference speakers would not be identified by their places of employment. In none of the conference promotional material was I identified as a Texas State University faculty member. In introducing myself at the conference, I did so as a member of Socialist Horizon and of the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU). The TSEU represents employees of the entire state of Texas. Attendees at the conference had to pre-register and the conference had a no recording policy. The fascist grifter, unknowingly to us, filmed the entirety of the live stream, including when the conference went to break between sessions. It was during a break between sessions, when most participants left their screens, that someone who knew me asked what it is like teaching at Texas State. The fascist grifter took this casual exchange during a break and edited the footage to make it seem like my employment at Texas State was part of my conference presentation. This was explained in detail to Damphousse. Without needing a forensic examination of the video, it is clear that the video on YouTube has been edited. My session had a co-presenter, along with a chair, and a question-and-answer period. None of this is present in video held up by Damphousse because it has all been edited out by the fascist. The truth does not matter to Damphousse, just how things seem to a far right audience uninterested in knowing the truth. Damphousse is carrying out a politically motivated attack on a socialist and a union member. His language of inciting violence and criminal activity mirrors the language used by Trump and other far right politicians around the world in going after left-wing and even liberal organizations. This sets a very dangerous example for anybody concerned with the rights of free speech and assembly. As a government employee I have protected free speech in my capacity as a private citizen. I also have the additional protection of being a tenured professor with the ability to speak on matters of “public concern.” If I can be fired for exercising my basic rights, then no one is safe. This seems to be a part of a campaign organized by the state government and far right on higher education and civil liberties in general in Texas. What does it look like on your campus and others in the state? There is no doubt that my firing is part of a campaign organized by the far right on higher education across Texas. A few days before my first dismissal in September, a professor at Texas A&M University was fired for teaching issues related to gender identity. The president of the university was even forced to resign for not firing the professor soon enough. In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, two African American students, one at Texas Tech and another at Texas State, were singled out on X by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for using their free speech rights to protest Kirk memorials held in public spaces on campus. The Texas Tech student was expelled and the Texas State University student was forced to withdraw or be expelled. A staffer at Texas State was fired for expressing her free speech on social media. Since then, Abbott on October 19 announced that the state is “targeting professors … pushing leftist ideologies.” Shortly after it was announced that a University of Texas professor had been removed from an administrative role over “ideological differences.” Far right politicians, like Abbott, in an Orwellian manner say they are trying to stop indoctrination of students while actively working to turn universities in Texas into centers of far right indoctrination. Amid this, the Texas State University administration has ordered an audit of courses to remove classes that discuss LGBTQ topics and issues of sexuality. Texas Tech has also gone through a similar audit. The University of North Texas is being investigated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for refusing to “address left-wing extremism” and “terror.” The “extremism” and “terror” Paxton is referring to are the actions of people who protested the racism and attacks on academic freedom being carried by Turning Point USA. What impact has your firing had on you, your family, coworkers, and students? How has everyone responded? My firing has had a severe impact on my family with two school-aged children. We have lost our source of income and our health insurance, and we now face an uncertain future. This is a situation no one wants to be in, though we are not alone as the economic crisis of capitalism deepens for working-class people. The firing has had a deeply chilling effect on campus. Faculty are afraid to speak out for fear of being fired on a campus where tenure is not honored. I have heard from professors who are now afraid to teach lessons they had previously taught worry-free for years. These are not professors who were “indoctrinating” students. I have never heard of a professor doing such a thing on my campus. Now these professors are scared of teaching basic facts related to race, class, and gender. Language against teaching diversity put forth by the far right is so broad that this fear has even extended into the sciences. Biology professors are now worried about teaching facts about biodiversity. This would be laughable if it was not actually happening. Students are worried about protesting after a student who was forced to withdraw from the university for exercising his right to free speech in the university’s so-called “free speech zone.” While my firing created a repressive environment, especially for faculty, after the first couple of weeks, more faculty and students are coming forward to express their dissent to this far right attack on our fundamental civil liberties. What are the implications of your firing for faculty, workers, and students in public education in Texas? My firing has serious implications and ramifications. If a professor who has tenure, which is a form of a contract, can be fired for exercising their democratic rights on their own time and in their personal capacity, then really no one is safe. This is why my case is so important. We must not allow my firing to be used as a precedent to fire more people for using their democratic rights. I say democratic rights because more than free speech is at stake — our rights to freedom of assembly and press, along with due process, are also being violated. Your firing is part of a larger bipartisan attack on academic freedom, the right to organize, and freedom of speech. It began under the Biden administration with the attack on students, faculty, and staff organizing in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s genocidal war. What did that look like and how did it open the door for Trump’s full-blown McCarthyism in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination? How have university bosses responded to Trump’s McCarthyism in Texas and nationally? Palestine has been the axis around which many of our struggles currently revolve. Like countless wars before, the U.S. government’s funding of Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people has drained money from resources needed by working people during this time of economic crisis. As for basic rights, if one cannot protest a genocide being livestreamed for all to see, then how can we use our democratic rights? Academics have been fired and students expelled for protesting the genocide. The Biden administration, along with Democratic and Republican governors, in attacking the democratic rights of Palestinian liberation activists, opened the door for the far right to attack all forms of expression. Now all of our democratic rights are under attack under Trump’s neo-McCarthyism. Trump has offered preferential funding to universities who comply with his plan to turn universities into centers of far right indoctrination. While some universities have rejected Trump’s offer, the University of Texas at Austin is still considering it. In response to your case and others, unions, organizations, and student groups have rallied to your defense. What have they done? How are they responding to this most recent firing? What are the lessons of all this organizing for other defense campaigns? Unions, students, and organizations concerned with democratic rights have all rallied to my defense. This has been a moment when everyone has upheld the labor movement’s core principle that “an injury to one is an injury to all.” The Texas State Employees Union, the Texas State University chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, and San Marcos’s chapter of Socialist Horizon have united to organize much of the on the ground support. As part of my defense campaign, they have staged protests and canvased for free speech and academic freedom. The American Association of University Professors and the Texas-American Federation of Teachers have made the invaluable contributions, especially by providing me with a lawyer and legal advice. The Committee to Defend Tom Alter has brought unions, left organizations, and socialist groups to rally support for me across the country. The Committee has an advisory board of academics, intellectuals, and longtime activists. While my socialist politics have not always been front and center during parts of the campaign, I have not hidden them. In my private and personal capacity, I continue to advocate for a better future based on the needs of the working class against the profit and greed-driven system of capitalism. Finally, what are the next steps in your struggle for reinstatement? What can people do to help? The immediate next step in my case is the appeal to the Texas State University System Board of Regents. We will ask them to reverse President Damphousse’s decision and reinstate me to my position at Texas State. On top of that, we will show that Damphousse’s groundless decision has compromised academic freedom, violated tenure, and caused a serious blow to the standing and reputation of Texas State. For many in the Texas State community and myself, the university means a lot to us, and we are deeply saddened by the harm Damphousse’s actions have caused to Texas State. The Board of Regents has a chance to undo this harm and restore the previously thriving academic environment at Texas State. People can help by contacting the board’s Subcommittee for Academic and Health Affairs, which will be hearing my appeal and demand my reinstatement. Academics can sign and send this letter and everyone else this one to the board. To get further involved in my defense campaign and other struggles to defend civil liberties, go to the website of the Committee to Defend Tom Alter and join Haymarket Books’ special event, “Speak Out! Tom Alter, MAGA McCarthyism, and the Fight for Free Speech,” which will feature, among others, Eman Abdelhadi, Jodi Dean, and Dave Zirin. And for those who can, please donate to help support me and my family amid the financial crisis my firing has thrown us into. That will help me focus on the fight to defend my civil liberties and those of everyone else. This is not just about me. All of us, all working class and oppressed people, are in the fight of our lives against Trump and his clique of right-wing billionaires. It is time for us to unite to defend democracy and fight for a society that puts people and the planet before profit.
