‘To argue this is a threat against Trump is very dishonest,’ professor says

A climate professor from the University of Pennsylvania suggested the country is in “second amendment territory” if President Donald Trump does not comply with a federal judge’s ruling to halt the dismantling of the Education Department.

“If Trump doesn’t comply, we’re in second amendment territory,” Professor Michael Mann wrote on Bluesky on Thursday, prompting backlash.

Several high-profile observers took it to mean he was calling for armed resistance, and he has since deleted his post, Headline USA reported.

“The second amendment refers to the right of the people to rise up and defend democracy,” he wrote in a second post Friday. “To argue this is a threat against Trump is very dishonest.”

“Hi @FBI, this climate scientist and professor at @Penn appears to be calling to kiII Trump and Trump officials,” Libs of TikTok wrote on X in response to the post. 

Mann’s remarks were prompted by a federal judge’s recent decision to block President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Education Department, issuing an injunction that halts the mass termination of over 1,300 employees and orders their reinstatement.

In October, the University of Pennsylvania appointed Mann its first vice provost for climate science, policy, and action.

But the Washington Free Beacon reported “Mann’s apparent threat could attract the attention of federal law enforcement officials, who have been quick to investigate similar public threats against the president.”

In another recent post on Bluesky, Mann criticized the U.S. Department of Education’s new “End DEI” reporting portal.

“I believe Hitler had a program like this,” he wrote in response to the portal, which allows parents to report “diversity, equity, and inclusion” efforts in K-12 schools.

Mann has previously garnered attention for his comments on climate change.

Last June, he said it is extremely hot due to climate change. However, future problems can be prevented “by getting off fossil fuels,” he said.

In a similar case of social media scrutiny, Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, called for people to “rise up” in a 2020 tweet.

The Stanford Daily, a student newspaper, published an article interpreting the tweet as inciting violence.

Atlas’s tweet has stated: “The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you accept,” in response to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new COVID-19 restrictions.

MORE: Law professor: ‘Fix bayonets’ and fight against Trump (metaphorically)

IMAGE CREDIT AND CAPTION: Michael Mann interviewed on book ‘Our Fragile Moment’ in 2023; CBS News/Youtube

Read More

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter