The law professor who spoke at the pro-Trump rally that came ahead of the Capitol siege on Jan. 6 will not be returning to his teaching job.
Chapman University President Daniele Struppa announced on Wednesday that Dr. John Eastman, who had taught at the university for over two decades and previously served as dean of the law school, would not be returning to his teaching position in light of the remarks he made at the rally.
“After discussions over the course of the last week, Dr. John Eastman and Chapman University have reached an agreement pursuant to which he will retire from Chapman, effective immediately,” Struppa said in a statement. “Dr. Eastman’s departure closes this challenging chapter for Chapman and provides the most immediate and certain path forward for both the Chapman community and Dr. Eastman. Chapman and Dr. Eastman have agreed not to engage in legal actions of any kind, including any claim of defamation that may currently exist, as both parties move forward.”
Eastman, in his own post about his departure, said he was making the announcement “with mixed feelings,” in part because “some of my ‘colleagues’ on the campus or to the few members of the Board of Trustees who have published false, defamatory statements about me without even the courtesy of contacting me beforehand to discuss.”
He also took exception with a letter signed by about 160 university faculty members, which he specifically called “defamatory,” who accused him of “participation” in the deadly siege at the Capitol. Eastman spoke at the “Save America” rally alongside President Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in which he spread claims of election fraud.
Eastman argued that the notion he “participated in a riot that incited” violence is false, saying, “I participated in a peaceful rally of nearly ½ million people, two miles away from the violence that occurred at the capital and which began even before the speeches were finished.” He also defended a litany of election-related fraud claims that he made at the rally, including a reference to “secret folders” in the voting machines that can add extraneous votes to a given candidate’s total.
