The campus of UNC-Chapel Hill (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)
UNC Chapel Hill professor Dwayne Dixon was reinstated Oct. 3, ending his suspension over alleged ties to a defunct anti-fascist group last month.
The reinstatement comes after the ACLU of North Carolina, representing Dixon, threatened legal action over the university’s decision to place him on leave, writing in an Oct. 2 demand letter that it was a “textbook violation of the First Amendment.” They issued a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday before legal action would follow.
In a statement after his reinstatement Friday morning, Dixon wrote that the administrative action represents “an issue that threatens all of us,” thanking those who defended him.
“Through our vast network of care, courage, and creativity, we have lifted up a defiant message: we will not be deterred in ensuring that free speech and debate are defended,” he wrote.
Dean Stoyer, UNC’s vice chancellor for communications and marketing, said in a statement that Dixon was placed on leave over “reports and expressions of concern regarding alleged advocacy of politically motivated violence,” after which the university conducted a threat assessment.
“We have found no basis to conclude that he poses a threat to University students, staff, and faculty, or has engaged in conduct that violates University policy,” Stoyer said. “As a result, the University is reinstating Professor Dixon to his faculty responsibilities, effective immediately.”
He reiterated the university’s “commitment to rigorous debate, respectful engagement, and open dialogue in support of free speech” alongside its “responsibility to protect the physical safety of the Carolina community.”
Dixon, a professor of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, was placed on administrative leave after flyers attributed to the John Brown Club appeared on Georgetown University’s campus with the slogan “Hey fascist, catch!” — an apparent reference to a message inscribed by the gunman who shot Charlie Kirk.
A Fox News report connected Dixon to the group through the Redneck Revolt, which it described as an offshoot organization of the John Brown Gun Club, an anti-fascist group originating in Kansas in the 2000s.
That news report prompted Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, to post on X that Dixon “must be immediately fired and the group/network investigated.”
Dixon’s suspension was the latest in a series of actions against academics, government workers, and other employees perceived to be making light of Kirk’s death or tied to groups that did so — spurred by a wave of condemnation from right-wing activists online.
In its letter to UNC on behalf of Dixon, ACLU NC attorney Ivy Johnson noted that Redneck Revolt disbanded in 2019, six years prior to the flyers being posted, and denied that he had any involvement with the Georgetown posting.
“There is nothing to suggest Professor Dixon was in any way involved with, or even aware of, the flyers distributed on Georgetown’s campus,” Johnson wrote. “Indeed, Professor Dixon has not been affiliated with the John Brown Gun Club or Redneck Revolt since 2018.”
It is unclear whether the John Brown Club that posted the flyers at Georgetown has any connection at all to the similarly named Gun Club — the Georgetown Hoya, the student newspaper, reported that the flyers originally linked to an interest form for organizing a new group. John Brown, a 19th-century abolitionist who led an armed raid on Harper’s Ferry, is a venerated figure among left-wing activists.
Johnson said in an interview that Dixon sought ACLU representation the day of his suspension. About three hours after receiving the demand letter, UNC called them for a meeting.
“That the flagship university in our state, the nation’s oldest public university, would take such a drastic action is incredibly alarming,” Johnson said. “This result shows the power of collective protest and action.”
UNC graduate workers union chapter president Nyssa Tucker delivers remarks at a March 7 “Stand Up for Science” protest in Raleigh. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)Dixon’s suspension prompted student and faculty outcry. Around 120 students gathered on campus to protest the decision on Wednesday, the Daily Tar Heel reported, with professors among those who spoke out at the rally. A petition for his reinstatement garnered 1,247 signatures before organizers declared victory.
Nyssa Tucker, chapter president of the UNC Chapel Hill graduate workers union, wrote in a statement that her group helped organize the demonstration and condemned the “censorship of students and staff.”
“UNC administration has repeatedly failed us through their actions. Their decision to put Professor Dixon on administrative leave on the basis of false allegations is just the latest example,” Tucker wrote. “Our best option in defending democracy is to work together, plan together, and fight together.”
Dixon condemned UNC administrators as “feckless” and representative of “the real danger to our rights” in choosing to suspend him.
“The actions of the administration signal to faculty and students alike that we should think with trepidation and speak with fear, lest some unnamed accusers target us for administrative discipline, or with threats, or worse,” Dixon said. “I will not be intimidated.”
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