The chair of the English department at the University of Wisconsin Claire University was placed on administrative leave after allegedly flipping a table of University Republicans on campus Tuesday morning.
Interim Provost Michael Carney of UW-eau Claire confirmed the incident on Fox News.
“We are deeply concerned about the disruption of the peaceful efforts of students to share information on campus on Election Day,” Carney said in a statement. “UW-eau Claire strongly supports everyone's right to free speech and free expression, and the university remains committed to ensuring that campuses are a place where we can share and praise a variety of opinions and beliefs.”
He added, “Civic dialogue is an important part of the university's experience, and peaceful engagement is the basis for learning itself.”
“We are working with the University of Wisconsin and the Office of Legal Counsel, which conducts a comprehensive investigation into the issue. The faculty involved are on administrative leave as the investigation is pending,” Carney said.
Republicans at UW-eau Claire College have identified the Instagram faculty as José Felipe Alvergue, head of the English department.
Alvergue did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Tatiana Bobrowicz, Republican Chairman of UW-eau Claire College, said in a video posted on the chapter's Instagram page that she had just finished setting up the table on Election Day.
A group of students were promoting Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Simel and supervisor candidate Brittany Kinser on Tuesday.
“The professor came in and turned our table over with a violent attack on us. This is unacceptable,” Bobrowicz said in a statement posted Tuesday on the UW-eau Claire College Republicans Instagram account. “Since then, the university has confirmed that this attacker is the chairman of the university's English department. Once again, this type of violent attack is unacceptable.”
Mark Pitch, UW Director of Media Relations, told Fox News that university staff “awesome UW-Oeau Claire's adoption of Swift Action and we will work with them to carry out the investigation.”
