Devion Canty Jr. #

Introduction #

Devion Canty Jr. is an American student who was enrolled at Texas State University in San Marcos until he was removed from the school after a viral video showed him mocking the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an on-campus gathering of mourners. Canty identified himself as the man in the video. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for the student’s immediate removal and announced he had been expelled, while the university said only that the individual was “no longer a student at TXST” and declined to confirm whether he was expelled or left voluntarily. Days later, Canty set up a GoFundMe to help cover his education costs, describing himself as a “passionate student who made a mistake in the heat of the moment” and writing, “I did not harm anyone.”

Background Information #

Canty was a student at Texas State University — the New York Post called him an “ousted Bobcat student,” a reference to the school’s athletic teams — when the incident occurred. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025; the New York Post reported that he was struck by a single gunshot fired by alleged assassin Tyler Robinson. The following Monday, September 15, mourners gathered outside the school’s Turning Point USA chapter, and it was there that Canty was captured on video. The episode landed amid a national backlash over reactions to Kirk’s killing: a Reuters report cited by Newsweek said at least 15 people had been fired or suspended over posts about Kirk, and the influencer Matt Wallace claimed his team had managed to get dozens of people fired over their reactions.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

A clip posted on X on Tuesday morning, September 16, showed a man mimicking a bullet hitting his neck as he said “Charlie Kirk is dead b***h,” before he climbed onto the base of a statue, said “my name is Charlie Kirk,” and then fell over. Canty yelled “Charlie Kirk got hit in the neck, bitch!” in the video, slapping his neck and imitating the recoil of a bullet’s impact; the New York Post reported that he then climbed up to the base of a statue at the San Marcos campus and repeated the re-enactment, dramatically slumping to the ground as if he were shot. The Post described him as having spewed profanity at a group of mourners outside the school’s Turning Point USA chapter, days after Kirk’s killing. The video circulated rapidly, and the New York Post described the onlookers as a horrified crowd.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Governor Abbott reposted the viral video on Tuesday with the message: “Hey Texas State. This conduct is not accepted at our schools. Expel this student immediately. Mocking assassination must have consequences.” Minutes later, at 5:12 p.m. local time, university President Kelly Damphousse announced that the “university has identified the student in a disturbing video from Monday’s event” and that “the individual is no longer a student at TXST.” In a statement, Damphousse said, “I will not tolerate behavior that mocks, trivializes, or promotes violence on our campuses. It is antithetical to our TXST values.” Abbott later shared his previous post and said: “That student is now expelled.”

Texas State confirmed to Newsweek that the individual Damphousse referenced was the same student in the viral video, but the university would not say whether he was expelled or left voluntarily, saying, “It would be most accurate to report that the individual is no longer enrolled at TXST,” because “federal law prevents the university from commenting further on individual student conduct matters.” Abbott’s office told Newsweek: “Any student who violates their school’s code of conduct by condoning or inciting political violence must face swift disciplinary action,” adding that “advocating for the assassination of political opponents is deplorable and fundamentally contrary to Texan values.” Damphousse said the video “understandably evoked strong emotions here and across the country,” cautioned against suggestions that the individual’s actions represented the beliefs of TXST students in general — calling such insinuations “unfair to our student body” — and asked for a “calm, measured response and dialogue.”

Current Status #

Canty is no longer enrolled at Texas State University. In his self-run fundraiser, titled “going back to txst,” he claimed he faced a choice between “immediate expulsion or withdrawing from the university” and chose to withdraw — “not because I wanted to leave, but for my own safety and the well-being of the campus community.” The university has not confirmed that account, and the governor’s announcement of an expulsion remains the most widely reported characterization. Canty set up the GoFundMe on the Thursday after the video spread, seeking $9,000; it had raised nearly $2,000 as of Saturday morning, per the New York Post. He wrote that the fundraiser “will help me cover the costs of pursuing my education elsewhere or taking the necessary steps to return to Texas State,” adding, “I still believe in my education and my future, and I would love to be welcomed back on campus one day.” No criminal charge against Canty is reported in the available coverage; the documented consequence is his removal from the university.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Within roughly a week, Canty went from being a student at a public Texas university to a nationally known example of the consequences of mocking Kirk’s assassination, with the governor personally demanding his removal and then announcing it. His education is now in limbo: by his own account he is trying to fund his studies elsewhere or win his way back to Texas State, and his fundraiser had collected only a fraction of its goal in its first days. In that fundraiser, Canty claimed he was being targeted as an “out-of-control, disrespectful young Black man” and wrote that he had been “spit on, called racial slurs,” and had witnessed “women being cursed at and pushed around” — saying he spoke up and that, while his actions “weren’t perfect,” he did not harm anyone; those accounts have not been independently verified. His case has become part of a broader fight over cancel culture, with journalist Don Lemon accusing the right of “hypocrisy” for firing people over speech, and commentator Rogan O’Handley countering that “it’s not ‘cancel culture’ for people to be fired after celebrating the gruesome murder of an unarmed, innocent man.”