By: Emma Parker
A University of Wisconsin Madison professor implied his support for an assault on Senator Rand Paul, similar to the 2017 attack on Paul by his neighbor.
Mike Wagner, a professor of Journalism and Mass Communication, is not only pushing for more COVID restrictions, but also for an attack against Senator Rand Paul. Wagner’s tweet said, “Where have you gone Rand Paul’s neighbor, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” It was posted in a response to a video of Paul pushing against more COVID restrictions, the senator saying “It’s time for us to resist. They can’t arrest all of us… No one should follow the CDC.”
The situation in which Wagner was referring to was an attack by Paul’s neighbor in November 2017. The sneak attack by 58 year-old Rene Boucher, resulted in Paul’s ribs breaking after flying 10 feet in the air from the force of the push and was left with a “significant injury that I have lifelong symptoms from,” Paul said. Boucher was charged in court and is facing jail time.
After YAF drew attention to the tweet, Wagner deleted it and gave a less than merciful apology.
I deleted a tweet that could be read as encouraging violence. I didn’t mean it that way, but I should know better than to say anything that could be misconstrued in a violent direction. I apologize for that.
— Mike Wagner (@prowag) August 9, 2021
The university doubled down in support of Wagner.
“Students, faculty and staff are able to exercise their First Amendment right to free expression on social media; when they do, they are expressing their own views, not those of the university,” said university spokeswoman Meredith Mcglone.
It is worrisome that once again, the side of “love and peace” is pushing for physical assault on anyone, let alone a United States Senator. The school should act swiftly and condemn such heinous comments.
