What You Need To Know:
A George Mason University economics PhD student named Nicholas Decker recently published an essay with the shocking title “When Must We Kill Them?” directly referring to the Trump administration. This student, who aspires to become a professor, wrote that “evil has come to America” in the form of Donald Trump. The College Fix
The essay explicitly suggests that violence might be necessary against the current administration, stating that “the questions of the day can be settled not with legislation, but with blood and iron” and asking outright “when we must kill them.” FFXnowThe Gateway Pundit
To their credit, George Mason University officials took appropriate action and “referred the matter to state and federal law enforcement for evaluation of criminal behavior” and publicly condemned the essay. Wusa9
After facing consequences, the student later tried to backpedal by adding a disclaimer that violence should be a “last resort,” but the original intent of the essay remains clear. The Gateway Pundit
This incident highlights a dangerous trend in today’s universities where extreme anti-conservative rhetoric is becoming normalized. Our tax dollars fund institutions where students openly speculate about violence against a sitting president and his administration.
This is not an isolated case but part of a pattern of radicalization occurring on campuses nationwide. When doctoral students – future professors who will teach the next generation – are publishing essays questioning when to kill political opponents, we must ask serious questions about the environment that fostered such extremism.
Conservative families sending children to college deserve to know what kind of ideological indoctrination they may face. We need greater accountability from universities to ensure they’re not breeding grounds for violent anti-conservative extremism.
The following article was published on FFXNow.com
By Vernon Miles
Published April 18, 2025 at 1:45PM | Updated April 18, 2025 at 3:47PM
George Mason University said it has referred a student’s essay to state and federal law enforcement after it sparked concern online.
While GMU did not respond to a FFXnow request to specify which essay, a social media post from GMU comes after a student’s Substack post titled ‘When Must We Kill Them?‘ went viral in conservative circles.
The essay questions when resistance to President Donald Trump’s administration should become violent.
“If the present administration chooses this course, then the questions of the day can be settled not with legislation, but with blood and iron,” the essay said. “In short, we must decide when we must kill them.”
The essay does not explicitly call for violence against any administration officials, but argues that Americans should have a threshold at which they turn to violent revolution. It claims that it may be best to “wait for elections, but if it should threaten the ability to remove it, we shall have no choice.”
The essay’s author said on social media that they were contacted by the Secret Service.
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The author posted an update this morning specifying that violence should be a last resort:
Violence is a last resort, not a first resort. It must come after the exhaustion of all possible remedy. It is not, moreover, appropriate for decisions which are merely unwise or disastrous. It is to be employed only in defense of our Constitution, and of democracy. If it is resorted to, it must be narrowly targeted, and aimed only at extirpating those who have power, and are unjustly resisting giving it up.
The post had nearly 500 comments by this afternoon (Friday).
GMU said it was aware of an “essay published online by one of its students that has created concern” and said campus police referred the essay to state and federal law enforcement for evaluation.
“George Mason condemns this and all encouragements of violence,” the GMU account said on X. “This is not the Mason way.”
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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) Student Association Counsel Zach Greenberg said in a release that abstract calls for violence are protected speech:
George Mason University referred a student to law enforcement because his Substack article calling for violence against the Trump administration was “not the Mason way.” But the First Amendment—binding on public universities like GMU—protects core political speech consisting of rhetorical hyperbole and the mere endorsement of violence.
Student expression on public issues is very much the Mason way. The university is named after Founding Father George Mason, who advocated for abolishing a tyrannical government in his 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which formed the basis of the Bill of Rights containing the First Amendment.
We call on GMU to live up to its name by refraining from punishing this student for clearly protected political speech.
The controversy over the essay comes at a precarious time for the university. GMU’s Board of Visitors recently approved a controversial antisemitism resolution that could restrict criticism of Israel and is currently considering cuts to diversity programs, bowing to pressure from the Trump administration despite outcry from the school’s students, staff and faculty.