(Headline USA) The Stanford Law School dean involved in the mob harassment of a Trump-appointed federal judge earlier this year has left the university, according to reports.
Tirien Steinbach—who served as Stanford Law’s associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion—is leaving the school “to pursue another opportunity,” Stanford Law Dean Jenny Martinez said in a statement on Thursday.
Steinbach came under fire in March after she publicly accosted Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan during his visit to campus. She was joined by dozens of students protesting Duncan’s speech.
Instead of encouraging the students to allow Duncan to exercise his right to free speech, Steinbach reprimanded Duncan for making students feel “unsafe.” She called Duncan’s work “abhorrent” and claimed it “literally denies the humanity of people.”
In a statement after the controversial protest, Martinez acknowledged that Steinbach’s actions were inappropriate.
“Associate Dean Steinbach and I both hope that SLS can move forward as a community from the divisions caused by the March 9 event,” Martinez said. “The event presented significant challenges for the administration, the students and the entire law school community.”
It is not clear whether Steinbach was fired from the university or whether she left of her own accord.
A number of conservative organizations had been petitioning the school to fire Steinbach over her behavior.
“We are thrilled to see Dean Tirien Steinbach is being held accountable for her actions,” said Cherise Trump, executive director of Speech First, who is of no direct relation to the former president. “She made it clear she does not believe in such principles as open discourse and free speech.”
Trump said Steinbach’s actions were antithetical to the very idea of an institution of higher learning.
“These key principles are vital to a college education as well as to our legal system,” she said. “The day Steinbach violated campus free speech policies and led an angry mob to shout down a sitting judge simply because she did not like his views, was the day she told the country that Stanford Law School has a much lower hiring standard than we knew.”
