WSU Professor Accused Of Inciting Violence On Twitter Resigns

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Weber State University professor who was sharply criticized for a barrage of tweets during protests happening in Utah and nationwide has resigned.

Scott R. Senjo made the announcement Wednesday, writing in a statement that the university ordered him to resign due to his “irresponsible tweeting activity” over several months.

“I agree that my tweets were far beyond the realm of acceptable university policy as well as acceptable social norms,” he wrote. “I made those tweets in the oftentimes vulgar, extreme back-and-forth that can occur on Twitter and they were simply wrong. I apologize for my irresponsible behavior and resign my position, effective immediately.”

However, in a statement from Weber State University issued shortly after Senjo’s resignation was made public, school officials said he was not forced to leave.

“The resignation comes days after the university was made aware of several tweets Senjo sent from his personal Twitter account that promoted violence and caused safety concerns,” according to the WSU statement. “The university had placed Senjo on paid leave June 2 in order to conduct a review of the situation. The university did not ask him to resign.”

University officials wrote that the now former professor sent an email to his department chair and the college dean that stated: “I studied the situation and the public fury is too great. I have to resign immediately. There’s no other option.”

KSL news specialist Tania Dean reached out to Senjo for his response.

“Those are my tweets but I don’t stand by them and will have to suffer the consequences of my recklessness,” he wrote in his statement to KSL TV. “I made those tweets in the sordid atmosphere of Twitter knife fights where sarcastic put downs and tasteless humor are often the norm.”

As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Senjo hadn’t commented on the university’s assertion that he was not forced to resign by WSU.

When Salt Lake Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced a curfew in the wake of Saturday’s peaceful protest turning violent, Senjo posted, “See what you get for pandering to those disgusting losers? They’re not homeless Erin. You got what you deserve, idiot. You arrest them. Arrest.”

In another post, a woman raised the question if a female protester would have been shot for resisting arrest if she was black, to which Senjo replied, “If the woman who got arrested in that park was black, and got shot, gosh maybe she should’ve avoided the park. Duh.”

He also responded to a post about a man who got shot in the eye by police with a rubber bullet during a protest.

“Tell the story right now. ‘I was an idiot and joined rioters and looters in a fight with cops,’” Senjo posted. 

READ MORE: KSL TV’s Tania Dean spoke WSU officials about their investigation into the professor’s tweets.

WSU’s Wednesday media release stated that the posts in question were hurtful and inconsistent with the values of the university.

“We know the views expressed in these tweets make many of our students and members of our campus community feel isolated or unsupported,” according to the statement. ” … We remain committed to creating a campus environment where all are welcome, heard, valued and supported.”

Senjo acknowledged similar sentiments in his response to KSL TV.

“I failed to respect my role as a college professor in the hyper-emotional atmosphere of the recent police brutality protests,” he wrote. “I apologize for my Twitter contributions. In the aggregate, they reflect a great deal of ugliness.”

KSL TV’s Tania Dean contributed to this report.

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IN FULL: Senjo sent the following statement about his resignation to KSL

The university has ordered me to resign my position due to my irresponsible tweeting activity over the last several months. I agree that my tweets were far beyond the realm of acceptable university policy as well as acceptable social norms. I made those tweets in the oftentimes vulgar, extreme back-and-forth that can occur on Twitter and they were simply wrong. I apologize for my irresponsible behavior and resign my position, effective immediately.

IN FULL: Weber State University sent the following statement about Senjo’s resignation:

Weber State University criminal justice professor Scott Senjo has tendered his resignation, effective immediately.

The resignation comes days after the university was made aware of several tweets Senjo sent from his personal Twitter account that promoted violence and caused safety concerns.

The university had placed Senjo on paid leave June 2, in order to conduct a review of the situation. The university did not ask him to resign.

In an email sent to his department chair and college dean on June 3, Senjo wrote:

“I studied the situation and the public fury is too great. I have to resign immediately. There’s no other option.”

In local media articles, Senjo acknowledged being the author of the tweets and apologized for his “Twitter contributions.”

The Twitter posts in question were hurtful and inconsistent with the values of Weber State University and our work to create an inclusive and welcoming environment. We know the views expressed in these tweets make many of our students and members of our campus community feel isolated or unsupported.

We appreciate the outpouring of emails and social media posts from our students, alumni and colleagues who shared their concerns.

We remain committed to creating a campus environment where all are welcome, heard, valued and supported.