Chinese Student at Oberlin Sparks Outrage for Advocating Political Assassinations After Charlie Kirk Shooting

Julia Xu, a third-year Chinese international student at Oberlin College in Ohio, ignited widespread backlash after posting a video online where she advocated restoring political assassinations in a class discussion following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a Trump ally. 

In the clip, Xu, the only student to speak during a five-minute "hot takes" segment in her "Revolution, Socialism and Reform in China" class the day after Kirk's assassination, stated: "I've been saying we need to bring back political assassinations. I don’t feel bad, and I don’t think that everyone deserves the right to free speech."

Xu cited Mao Zedong's essay "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship," quoting: "People deserve free speech, but there should not be free speech for reactionaries and imperialists and capitalists... because that would reverse the progress made by the revolution." She claimed her professor agreed with her views afterward.

The video, shared on X and amplified by U.S. self-media, quickly went viral, drawing condemnation. Netizens doxxed Xu, demanding her visa revocation, deportation to China, and expulsion from Oberlin, labeling her a "CCP sympathizer." Some reported her to the college, questioning if her speech violated rules or made her unfit to study there.

Xu swiftly deleted the video and set her social media accounts to private. In an interview with the New York Post, she apologized: "I actually don’t advocate political assassination. My classroom statement didn’t receive support from the professor or other students. Implying approval in my social media post was wrong. I don’t support political violence; my argument was inappropriate." She expressed deep remorse.