AI Summary
5 min readEllie Fisher, a 26-year-old Black law student at Texas Tech with liberal politics, a wardrobe full of cowboy accoutrements, and a staunch belief in the Second Amendment, had built a life in which she was friends with everyone—including the conservatives who dominated her law school. She founded the school’s first NAACP chapter, led voter registration drives, and brought Beto O’Rourke to campus. But on the day conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated, a brief, civil conversation about the news in the law school clinic spiraled into a free speech nightmare that threatened to end her legal career before it began.
A hallway conversation becomes a formal complaint
As Ellie walked to her desk in the criminal defense clinic, she stopped by the office of professor Joe Stevens to share the news. Stevens gently chided her and she moved on after about 45 seconds. In the next office, her supervisor Patrick Metz was celebrating with two students who had just returned from their first day in court. For three to five minutes, the group discussed Kirk’s death. Metz, a liberal, called Kirk a racist and a misogynist. One student didn’t know who Kirk was. From next door, family law professor Terry Morgan heard the noise and told the room, in a chastising tone, that Trump had just said Kirk died. Ellie then walked to the conference room, where five to ten students sat around a tab
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:01) **Ellie Fisher: A Contradictory Law Student** - Introduces Ellie, a 26-year-old Black liberal woman with a law degree from Texas Tech who owns a wardrobe of cowboy gear and supports the Second Amendment.
- 2 (00:47) **The Charlie Kirk Murder Sparks a Free Speech Nightmare** - On the day Charlie Kirk is assassinated, a law professor accuses Ellie of an "over-exuberant" response, triggering a chain of events.
- 3 (01:56) **The Day of the Murder: A Tour of the Clinic** - Reporter Ben Walford narrates Ellie's movements through three offices in the law clinic on the day of Kirk's assassination.
- 4 (03:15) **The Conflicting Accounts in Metz's Office** - The conversation about Kirk's death becomes a "Rashomon" of differing recollections, lasting three to five minutes.
- 5 (04:15) **The Conference Room Debate** - Ellie joins a group of fellow students in the conference room to discuss the assassination.
- 6 (05:18) **The Complaint and Investigation Begin** - The following Monday, Ellie is called to a meeting and learns she has been accused of announcing Kirk's death in an "over-exuberant manner."
- 7 (06:49) **The Bigger Picture: Texas Overhauls Higher Education** - The episode pivots to explain that Ellie's case is part of a broader, sweeping trend in Texas and over 20 other states to restructure universities away from "liberal influences."
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Show Notes
A recent law-school graduate in Texas is facing disciplinary action over her “overexuberant” response to Charlie Kirk’s murder.
This episode was produced by Dustin DeSoto with help from Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Noel King.
Counter-protesters display a painting of Charlie Kirk near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on October 12, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images.
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