The pernicious rhetoric of the left that words are "violence" justifying actual violence may have inspired a radical professor at Hunter College (part of the City University of New York) to destroy a pro-life display on school grounds.  That provoked an investigation by the university of the incident, which was captured on video and displayed on Twitter.

Allie Griffin of the New York Post described the incident:

A Manhattan college professor flipped out on a group of students who set up an information table opposing abortion inside the school building — cursing and tossing their pamphlets, video of the interaction shows.

Shellyne Rodriguez, an adjunct professor, told the pro-life students they were "triggering" her students by tabling inside Hunter College in Manhattan earlier this month. (snip)

"You're not educating s---. This is f------ propaganda," the art professor told the students tabling on May 2. "What are you going to do like anti-trans next?"

A male student behind the table calmly told her, "I mean no, we're talking about abortion" and said he was sorry about "triggering" her students.

PROFESSOR GONE WILD: Pro-abortion professor Shellyne Rodriquez curses at pro-life students and vandalizes table at Hunter College. pic.twitter.com/QNspuXB4KK

— Students for Life of America (@StudentsforLife) May 17, 2023

But it was only after she threatened to murder a reporter seeking her comment that she was fired by the municipally owned school.  Fox News, where the reporter, Reuven Fenton, was interviewed on Hannity Tuesday night, reports:

New York Post reporter Reuven Fenton was threatened with a machete to his neck Tuesday when he knocked on the door of the Bronx apartment belonging to Shellyne Rodriguez, a Hunter College adjunct assistant professor of art. He was requesting an interview with Rodriguez after she was caught destroying a student group's pro-life display in an expletive-filled rant that went viral earlier this month. (snip)

In an appearance on "Hannity" Tuesday night, Fenton said he identified himself and requested to speak with Rodriguez when she began to verbally abuse him and his cameraman, threatening to "chop" them up. She then "barged out" of her apartment and put a machete to his neck, he recalled. (snip)

"We just wanted to speak to this woman ... we thought we might have a chance given that she's obviously passionate about her beliefs and maybe if we showed up to her door, she'd be willing to grant us an interview," Fenton told host Sean Hannity.

"In my career, I've knocked on 10,000 doors ... but I got a bit of a surprise when she opened the door," he continued. "This was a first for me. She first verbally threatened to chop us up with the machete and then proceeded to come out of her apartment brandishing the blade and pressing it against the side of my neck for about a second, and then I guess she realized she was being recorded and went back inside."

Here is video of the murder threat:

It appears that the threat of violence captured on video was enough for the university to fire her, not just investigate:

Hunter College announced Tuesday evening that Rodriguez had been fired from her position and will not return to teaching at the school.

"Hunter College strongly condemns the unacceptable actions of Shellyne Rodriguez and has taken immediate action. Rodriguez has been relieved of her duties at Hunter College effective immediately and will not be returning to teach at the school," a spokesperson for the school told Fox News Digital.

With Rodriguez's name in the media, it turns out that she is suing the NYPD over her arrest during the George Floyd riots.  The U.K. Daily Mail reports:

Rodriguez is suing the NYPD after she was arrested in 2020, during the George Floyd protests.

Rodriguez claims in her lawsuit that police officers pulled her hair, shoved her face into a gate and repeatedly punched her in the stomach.

She was arrested in the Bronx and put in a police van with 14 others. 

She had her hands restrained with zip ties, which she alleges were so tightly-bound for two hours they caused her lasting nerve damage, impacting her ability to create art.

Charges against her were dropped in September 2020: she is due in court in July for the next hearing in her suit. 

It strikes me as contradictory (but not surprising) that someone who turns to violence herself objects to and litigates alleged violence from others.  But that's the left for you.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab.