A University of North Carolina Wilmington professor who faced backlash for his controversial tweets was found dead in his home on Thursday.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation after Mike Adams, 55, was found by deputies conducting a wellness check at his home. No other details about his death have been released.
Adams, who was hailed by supporters as a defender of free speech, was a tenured criminology professor set to retire next month after reaching a settlement with the university for more than $500,000, according to the News & Observer.
Adams’s resignation, effective Aug. 1, stemmed from campus uproar regarding his social media posts, including those criticizing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This evening I ate pizza and drank beer with six guys at a six seat table top. I almost felt like a free man who was not living in the slave state of North Carolina. Massa Cooper, let my people go!” he tweeted in May.
He also joked that universities should not close but should stop “non-essential majors. Like Women’s Studies,” and commented on the protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, describing rioters as “thugs looking for an opportunity to break the law with impunity.”
Some students were upset with his columns for conservative outlets the Daily Wire and Town Hall, especially when he referred to a student as a “queer Muslim.” He also wrote a book titled Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts “womyn” on Campus.
Adams was the subject of multiple change.org petitions demanding his removal and resignation from the university. In one petition that garnered more than 5,500 supporters, the petition claimed that Adams showed a “history of spewing misogynistic, xenophobic, transphobic, homophobic, racist rhetoric” and that he made some students feel unsafe. Altogether, the petitions seeking his ouster gathered more than 120,000 signature.
Following news of his death, there was a stream of condolences among supporters. Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth organization, was among them.
“We are devastated to hear of the passing of @MikeSAdams,” YAF tweeted. “Professor Adams was a beloved freedom fighter and YAF speaker. Our prayers go out to his family.”
We are devastated to hear of the passing of @MikeSAdams. Professor Adams was a beloved freedom fighter and YAF speaker. Our prayers go out to his family. pic.twitter.com/1gx4PnszyM
— YAF (@yaf) July 23, 2020
