A Purdue University employee has resigned following a deluge of social media comments in which he appeared to threaten to rape pro-life supporters.
Jamie Newman, who provides musical accompaniment to Purdue’s Division of Dance, allegedly posted a series of critical comments to an article from abortion opponent Live Action. Those comments were seen as rape threats toward anti-abortion activists.
Newman has denied that his comments were threats and called the accusations an attempt to “destroy” and defame him. The comments were sent to the Purdue University Police Department, which questioned Newman but cleared him of any criminal intent.
One of the comments alleged to have been written by Newman said: “Oh, I’m sorry. So, let me make my intentions quite explicit: I did in fact offer to rape Tom’s wife/daughter/great grandmother. Free of charge, even. I’m generous that way.”
In another comment, he apparently provided the phone numbers to local police and FBI offices, telling readers to “Drop that dime! I could strike at any minute.”
Again, Newman says the accusation that he threatened to rape anyone are false. That didn’t stop Purdue’s legal counsel from issuing a statement on Friday rebuking Newman’s alleged comments.
“The disruption we’ve endured as a community is entirely due to Mr. Newman’s online posts,” Purdue legal counsel Steve Schultz wrote. “Anything other than a full apology and explanation from him about the intent of his statement will be insufficient to cure the harm he’s done.”
This is what prompted Newman to write a lengthy response outlining the sequence of events that lead to the accusation. He said the Purdue Students for Life conducted a “reprehensible stealth attack” on Purdue’s Black Cultural Center and was harshly criticized. Newman says he posted “an appropriately vehement response” to PSFL’s apology for the event, which led to what he says are false accusations.
On Monday, Purdue President Mitch Daniels defended the university’s decision to call for an apology from Newman without firing him, citing free speech. Daniels did, however, say that the comments from Newman were “the most explicit threat I’ve seen in my three years [as Purdue president].”
Earlier Monday morning, Newman resigned, telling the Lafayette Journal & Courier: “Yeah, I just quit” and to “Tell the world.”
A Purdue spokeswoman confirmed the resignation to the J&C.
Newman says he didn’t make any threats. Perhaps his posts were critical, even vicious, but if the police don’t think they were a credible, specific threat, then they might have been toeing the line of free speech, something Daniels has been fervently protecting even among growing campus hysteria over the issue across the country.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
