A lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, is reportedly under scrutiny for social media comments that appeared to endorse violence against conservative activist Nick Shirley. The remarks emerged on the anniversary of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

According to Yard Report, Matthew Goldman, who also lectures at Chapman University, made comments on the Harvard Republican Club's Instagram post announcing Shirley's upcoming appearance. One comment, posted shortly before the one-year anniversary of Kirk's death on Sept. 10, read, "Someone can do the funniest thing just before the Kirkiversary." Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking in Utah.

Another comment attributed to Goldman on the same post stated, "Lmao abolish ICE. only good ICE agent is a dead one." Yard Report shared screenshots of these comments, which have since led Goldman to set his social media accounts to private. His biography page on the UC Irvine website has also reportedly been removed.

Goldman's UC Irvine bio described him as a "composition lecturer" and noted that students found him "quite the gem," "funny," "slay," and "bald." His teaching philosophy, as described on the page, emphasizes purpose outside the classroom and learning through fun.

In a separate incident referenced by Yard Report, an Instagram post from an account appearing to belong to Goldman included an image of the Mario Brothers character Luigi pointing a gun at Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO who was allegedly assassinated by Luigi Mangione in December 2024. The post was captioned, "Let’s not pretend as if America isn’t the greatest country on earth."

Chapman University released a statement acknowledging the reports and stated that Goldman is not currently on campus or teaching at the university. "In keeping with standard employment practices, we cannot provide any further information," a university spokesperson said.

The Harvard Republican Club issued a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Goldman's comment "the latest example of the left's ongoing and shameless normalization of political violence." The club added, "Rhetoric like this, often promoted from within universities like UC Irvine, is why we need bomb squads at our events. The young right will not back down from its efforts to expose the fraud in our nation."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Shirley, UC Irvine, and Goldman for comment.