Video embedded in this story is from previous reporting on Sept. 24.
SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – The Texas State University student, who left the university after a video that shows him imitating Charlie Kirk’s death went viral, told KXAN that what the clip shared online doesn’t show is other students making racist remarks before the recording began.
Devion Canty spoke to KXAN from Charlotte, North Carolina. He said he had to leave the state due to an inundation of death threats in the wake of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sharing the video on X, calling for his expulsion.
Canty said that in the video’s comments “you would see, ‘Oh, he’s going to be hanged next,’” he recalled.
“[Around the same time], Trey Reed had got hung, and so they were like, we want to get him next, or we’re going to come kill him and his roommates – stuff like that,” Canty said.
De’Martravion “Trey” Reed’s body was found hanging from a tree at Delta State University in Mississippi on September 15. An autopsy report issued shortly after Reed’s death said that the Black student likely died by suicide, according to reporting from NewsNation.
The protest
Canty said he was on TXST’s campus on Sept. 15, when he saw students engaging in debate. He said those students began making hateful remarks.
“They’re telling us: Hitler was a progressive member of society; 90% of Black women in New York have abortions; 70% of Black homes are fatherless; Charlie Kirk is our new generation’s Martin Luther King,” Canty recalled. “They spit at us, calling us [the N-word].”
Canty said he saw some female students rip up posters that said “Charlie Kirk is our new generation’s MLK.”
“They started getting aggressive, like, pushing the women [ripping up the posters],” Canty said. “A couple of them hit the ground, and they were laughing about it. Not even probably four or five minutes later, that’s when the video happened.”
Canty said that, in the moment, he didn’t think his actions were wrong.
“They’re being disrespectful to us. I’m being disrespectful back. I’m not putting my hands on anyone. I didn’t see anything wrong with it at the time and point,” he said.
KXAN asked TXST if it had made any effort to find the students Canty mentioned, and if the university would tolerate that speech.
“Actions and words such as these are in direct opposition to TXST’s shared values, and they damage our community at its core,” a university spokesperson said in an emailed response. “The university continues to follow up on reports where there’s evidence, a name, or a witness.”
The aftermath
In an X post that now has over 12 million views, Abbott called for Canty’s expulsion.
Shortly after Abbott’s post, TXST President Kelly Damphousse released a statement saying, “Behavior that trivializes or promotes violence is reprehensible and violates the values of Texas State. It will not be tolerated. If this individual is found to be affiliated with TXST, appropriate action will be taken.”
Canty said that the TXST Dean of Students contacted him shortly after Damphousse’s statement.
“She gave me an option to withdraw, and it sounded like my only option and my best option. So that’s what I did,” Canty said.
He said that within an hour of withdrawing from the University, Damphousse released a statement.
“The university has identified the student in the disturbing video from Monday’s event. I will not tolerate behavior that mocks, trivializes, or promotes violence on our campuses. It is antithetical to our TXST values. The individual is no longer a student at TXST. Federal law prevents the university from commenting further on individual student conduct matters,” the statement read.
Gov. Abbott followed up with an X post saying, “That student is now expelled.” However, Canty and TXST have both said he was not expelled.
Canty said he feels his actions should be protected under the First Amendment. He now has legal representation.
Additionally, he launched a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of continuing his education. The fundraiser has raised more than $34,000.
“It’s shameful that our governor took a college freshman and shoved him into the public eye,” Texas Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) said. “As Devion has told me and others, he has received just mountains of death threats.”
“A college freshman does not deserve that. That is the epitome of punching down,” she continued.
Zwiener believes Canty was targeted specifically because of “the nature of his political speech,” she said.
“That violates the First Amendment. Political speech is the highest level of protected speech,” she said.
“The absolute worst interpretation of what he did is that it was ill-advised and insensitive. If we kicked college students out for insensitive and ill-advised speech, we would not have a lot of college students left,” Zwiener said.
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