The firing of historian Tom Alter from Texas State University is drawing attention as part of a broader right-wing war against free speech. But the attack on Alter is also of note for relying on video circulated by a far-right influencer — who appeared this month on Fox News — that has made outrageous claims about Nazis and Jews, claiming the public was “lied to about World War II” and that “Hitler went to heaven.”
Alter, a tenured professor, was fired earlier this month and accused by Texas State University President Kelly Damphouse of “inciting violence” for a recent speech at a socialist conference. Far-right activist Karlyn Borysenko had posted a clip of Alter, misleadingly shorn of context, of him describing a confrontational strain of anarchist thought that arose in connection with protests of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, better known as “Cop City.” The shared clip did not include his criticism of that tendency.
The clip circulated in right-wing circles on social media, eventually resulting in Alter’s firing by Damphousse, who was chosen to lead Texas State University by the Texas State University System Board of Regents. Members of the board are appointed by the governor of the state, Greg Abbot, a Republican.
But Borysenko, whose exclusive coverage of the event immediately preceded Alter’s firing, has herself repeatedly espoused extreme rhetoric on social media, even publicly embracing “fascism” and revisionist histories of Nazi Germany.
For example, in a post from August 2024, Borysenko said, “Hitler went to heaven. I do not apologize.”
This post was in response to another post from her in which she said, “Everyone who died in the Holocaust choose [sic] to die in the Holocaust before they were ever born because they [collectively] wanted to understand the experience of ultimate oppression. That’s why Hitler went to heaven.”
That exchange came as part of a years-long record of insisting that the leader of the Third Reich went to heaven, which includes saying things like, “You mean the JEWS don’t believe Hitler went to hell either???”
Borysenko has previously responded to criticism of her comments, saying, “Heaven is real. It’s the spirit realm we all go to after we die. hell is not real. It’s an invention of religion to control people,” and “Hitler was an evil person on a human level. He still didn’t go to hell. Hell is not real.”
In another exchange from September 2024, Borysenko said, “We were all lied to about World War II. They traumatized us in school with atrocity propaganda.”
“Hitler was fighting communists and made multiple attempts to end the war. Most deaths in the camps were from typhus. Winston Churchill is one of the most evil men who ever lived,” Borysenko said.
Later in the same thread, Borysenko responded to a reply that was criticising her for Holocaust denial, saying “You’re literally Jewish,” adding, “Your opinion means nothing to me.”
In response to a request for comment, Borysenko said, “I’m rather shocked that you’re not smart enough to do your own research and fine [sic] any number of the videos or statements I’ve already made commenting on it. Since you obviously need me to do your job for you, what would you like to know? I will be documenting this exchange publicly on X to my 90,000 followers.”
In a brief phone call with Borysenko, she did not respond to a request to explain her past comments about Hitler, World War II and her efforts to “question the Holocaust.”
Borysenko describes her work as an effort to shed light on the danger of the left.
“Karlyn Borysenko infiltrates their meetings, collects their materials, decodes their language, and exposes their ideas,” reads her description of her Substack.
Broysenko has also recently been welcomed by Fox News as an “expert” and “an undercover investigative journalist,” in the words of prime-time anchor Jesse Watters. Borysenko, in an appearance last week, painted a dire picture for Fox’s audience, claiming that the left’s “primary goal is the violent overthrow of the federal government.”
Watters did not mention Borysenko’s avowed support for the far-right, including her stated belief that “fascism might actually be our only option to actually defeat the left.”
“From a real-world perspective, I right now am of the opinion that fascism might actually be our only option to actually defeat the left. I’m not actually joking again,” Borysenko said. “At my heart and core, I am a Libertarian. I believe in voluntarism. I believe in individualism. I believe in the free markets. I believe in all this stuff. But from a practical perspective, I kind of just feel like the conservatives cannot be trusted to make any decisions at all, and they will never defeat the left. They are way more committed to sending all our money to Israel than they are in actually fixing this country.”
Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
In a Sept. 8 post concerning Alter, Borysenko, who was a Libertarian Party candidate for governor of New Hampshire in 2022, winning just over 2,700 votes, boasted that the clip was from her “exclusive coverage” of the conference.” A search of X also shows that her post about Alter was the one that widely circulated ahead of his Sept. 11 firing.
Liz Yates, an expert on political violence and bigotry at the Western States Center, an organization that monitors right-wing extremism, told Salon that people like Borysenko have taken on an increasingly prominent role in right-wing movements.
“Streamers have become increasingly visible and relevant in anti-democracy and bigoted networks. They film live or online events and interactions and post video content that is often full of disinformation or conspiratorial narratives,” Yates said. “Their goals are to gin up support for bigoted and authoritarian policies, encourage harassment of political activists and people from targeted communities, and even attempt to trigger federal or state action. They’re basically the cheerleaders and enforcers of those who are leading assaults on our multiracial democracy.”
Yates cautioned that “streamers’ depictions of events are often false or misleading, so we must promote accurate and complete information — without engaging these disinformation spreaders or platforming their content.”
We need your help to stay independent
Since his firing, Alter has sued his former employer. His attorney, Amanda Reichek, told Salon that, “Dr. Alter was terminated because he espoused views that are unpopular in today’s conservative, politically-charged climate, in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.”
Reichek also disputed the account provided by Borysenko.
“On September 7, a Sunday, Dr. Alter spoke during an online conference organized by Socialist Horizon,” he said. “He never represented that his opinions were those of Texas State University. He spoke in his individual capacity, on his own time, and his connection with Texas State University was revealed only by another participant.”
“Unbeknownst to the conference organizers,” Riechek continued, “a self-described fascist influencer registered and attended the conference and violated the conference’s policy of no recording or streaming of conference proceedings by attendees. Afterwards, she posted Dr. Alter’s comments to her YouTube channel.”
Damphousse had initially accused Alter of inciting violence. In the lawsuit, Alter said that he was told he was fired after the university received a complaint.
“Conduct that advocates for inciting violence is directly contrary to the values of Texas State University,” Damphousse said. “I cannot and will not tolerate such behavior.”
The clip circulated by Borysenko and later by other right-wing accounts begins with Alter saying, “As anarchists, these insurrectionists explicitly reject the formation of a revolutionary party capable of leading the working class to power. Without organization, how can anyone expect to overthrow the most bloodthirsty, profit-driven mad organization in the history of the world, that of the US government?”
However, in context, it is clear that Alter is criticizing a strain of anarchist activism in the United States.
“Another strain of anarchism gaining ground recently is that of insurrection, insurrectionary anarchism, primarily coming out of those that were involved in the Cop City protest. These groups and individuals have grown rightfully frustrated with symbolic protests that do not disrupt the normal functioning of government and business. They call for more direct action, shutting down the military-industrial complex and preventing ICE from kidnapping members of their communities. Many insurrectionary anarchists are also serving jail time, lost jobs and face expulsion from school. They have truly put their bodies on the line. While their actions are laudable, it should be asked what purpose do they serve?” Alter said immediately preceding the clipped section.
The move to fire Alter is part of a larger campaign from administrators in Texas’ university system to crack down on speech that the right deems offensive.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Melissa McCoul, a professor at Texas A&M, was fired earlier this month after a video surfaced of a student confronting McCoul for saying in class that there are more than two genders. The student then went on to say that McCoul’s statement conflicted with President Donald Trump’s executive order, which asserts that there are only two genders.
“I’m not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching because, according to our president, there’s only two genders,” the student said in the video.
The video also led to criticism of McCoul from Republican lawmakers in the state. The president of Texas A&M has since resigned.
More recently, Texas State expelled a student for allegedly mocking Kirk’s death in a video circulated by another right-wing activist on X. In the video, the student is shown saying “Charlie Kirk got hit in the neck, b—h,” before seemingly reenacting Kirk’s death.
Damphousse’s office, in response to a query from Salon, said that it does not comment on active litigation.
