Two professors in Louisiana have voiced their strong disapproval after Republican Governor Jeff Landry urged the state’s largest university to install a statue of Charlie Kirk. One professor from Louisiana State University (LSU) even likened Kirk to notorious KKK leader David Duke.

“We are challenging the LSU board of supervisors to find a place to erect a statue of Charlie Kirk to champion free speech on college campuses,” declared Landry in a video shared on social media during his visit to LSU.

Landry attended an event at LSU on Monday night, held in collaboration with the university’s Turning Point USA chapter. According to Landry, the rally attracted over 1,500 attendees and featured a talk by Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative author and podcaster.

“Let’s see if we can be the first campus to make it happen, ladies and gentlemen,” Landry encouraged the audience.

Governor Jeff Landry addressed attendees at the TPUSA event at LSU on Monday evening. (Fox News)

A professor emeritus at LSU, Robert Mann, took to Bluesky to accuse Kirk of racism and express his displeasure with Landry’s call.

“If Jeff Landry wants a statue of a white nationalist on the LSU campus, it shouldn’t be Charlie Kirk,” he said in a post. “Shouldn’t he be honoring our home-grown racists, like David Duke (who actually went to LSU)?”

Mann retired in 2024, but still has an active profile on LSU’s website. He published a book through LSU Press this year. 

An associate professor of environmental sciences at Tulane University in New Orleans, Nicole Gasparini, also slammed Landry’s proposal on the left-wing social media app.

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. (Kruck20/iStock)

“Sooo my governor wants LSU to put up a statue of someone who created an organization with the *specific goal* of targeting and harassing professors,” she said.

Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 while debating with students during the first stop on his “American Comeback Tour.”

Elsewhere in Louisiana, a newly-formed Turning Point chapter at Loyola University New Orleans was barred by the school’s student government association from becoming an official campus club, denying them the opportunity for campus funding and to use campus resources, like reserving rooms at the school.

Citing Kirk’s opposition to gay marriage and transgenderism, one student said TPUSA’s values didn’t align with those of the Jesuit Catholic school. Another student accused Kirk of bigotry against Hispanics.

The school told Fox News Digital that the TPUSA organizers have some recourse.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via Reuters)

“Student leaders of the proposed organization have been notified of their right to appeal the decision through the SGA Court of Review, as outlined in Loyola’s Student Organization Handbook,” the school said.

“Loyola will continue to support the student-led process as it moves through its next steps.”

Mann and Gasparini did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did their respective universities.