Kirkwood Community College adjunct professor Jeff Klinzman resigned after it was reported he is a member of Antifa. Klinzman, who has reportedly worked as an adjunct English professor at Kirkwood since January 2010, affirmed to local media he is Antifa.
According to media reports, Klinzman’s Facebook page shows he supports “Antifa Nebraska,” “Heartland Antifascists,” “Antifascist USA,” “Iowa Antifa,” as well as other groups such as “Iowa City Democratic Socialists of America,” and “U.S. Democratic Socialists.” He also likes Sen. Bernie Sanders’ official page.
Kirkwood put forth a statement that said it made the decision Friday morning to identify an instructor who will take over the one course Klinzman was supposed to teach in the fall. The college president, Lori Sundberg, said she understood the decision would be supported by some and criticized by others.
“It is Kirkwood leadership’s assessment that the attention this matter has garnered has the potential to create an environment that is disruptive to our mission,” she said. “Our decision to remove Mr. Klinzman from the classroom has nothing to do with the substance of his views or his right to express them. Rather, our decision is based solely on our commitment to fostering a safe learning environment for our students, faculty and staff.”
Reactions to the school’s post have, predictably, been mixed.
Klinzman gave a heart reaction to this post from Iowa Antifa earlier on Friday.
KCRG did a search through Klinzman’s Facebook page, which has since seemingly been scrubbed, and found other concerning statements. He expressed a desire to “stop evangelical Christians” and included a poem that said, “Kill them all and bury them deep in the ground.”
He went on to explain, “It’s not pretty, and I’m not proud, but seeing what evangelical Christians are doing to this country and its people fills me with rage, and a desire to exact revenge.”
