An anti-fascist group expert who teaches at Rutgers University said he fled to Spain with his family after receiving death threats during a campaign for his dismissal by the Turning Point USA campus chapter and other conservative groups.
Mark Bray, assistant professor of history, said Thursday he made the decision out of concern for his family’s safety after he was mistakenly labeled a member of Antifa, a term referring to a group of far-left activists opposed to fascism.
“I have no affiliation with any Antifa organization, nor do I intend to,” Bray said. He wrote the book “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” which documents the philosophy and tactics of extremist anti-fascist movements in the United States and around the world. He has been teaching courses on anti-fascism and terrorism at the university since 2019.
In an interview with The Associated Press from a hotel near Newark Airport, where he was waiting for a flight out of the United States, Bray said he plans to teach classes remotely.
After President Donald Trump signed the executive order late last month, right-wing influencers and others began criticizing Bray on social media. designate antifa As a domestic terrorist organization. He said he moved three classes online after receiving death threats late last month.
Some students join the Rutgers chapter of Turning Point USA, a political group founded by charlie kirkhas started distribution. online petition The paper claimed Bray was a “well-known and outspoken member of Antifa” and called him “Dr. Antifa” while calling for his removal.
Mr. Bray says he is not a member of the Antifa organization that conservatives say is responsible for political violence, but he is donating half the proceeds from his book to a legal defense fund for people arrested for protesting fascism.
He said he learned of the petition call from the exiles when he was contacted by Fox News for comment. He said he has since received further threats, with his home address and family members’ personal information posted on social media.
Rutgers University spokeswoman Patty Zielinski on Thursday declined to comment on Bray’s situation, saying the university does not publicly discuss personnel or student conduct issues. But she said the university is “committed to providing a safe environment in which to learn, teach, work, and research where all members of our community can share their views without fear of intimidation or harassment.”
The Turning Point branch did not respond to an email requesting comment. Members of the group told reporters they believed they had the right to voice their concerns about Bray.
Megyn Doyle, a student at Rutgers University and Treasurer of Turning Point U.S. Chapter, said: told Fox News “We believe that having teachers who frequently promote political violence puts conservative students at risk of infiltration by Antifa,” he said last week.
The group’s online petition now states that it does not support harassment or doxxing, the collection and publication of personal and private information about Mr. Bray and others without their consent.
Bray previously came under public criticism for comments he made in a news interview in 2017, when he was a lecturer at Dartmouth College. Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he said there are situations in which violent self-defense is a “legitimate response” to violence by white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
But Bray told The Associated Press: “I don’t wish violence on anyone.”
His plans to leave the United States were first reported by NJ.com.
Bray said what he is experiencing is part of a broader effort to shut down speech on college campuses.
“This is an example of how the Trump administration is trying to conflate protests with terrorism and public college scholarships with extremism,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s a manufactured outrage to create a boogeyman term to demonize the protests.”
Bray, who lives in Spain, plans to teach remotely this school year and hopes to return to campus next fall. He was scheduled to fly to Spain on Wednesday night, but said he was informed by the airline shortly before takeoff that his family’s reservation had been cancelled. He and his wife, who is also a Rutgers University professor, have two young children.
