A professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who was due to retire in August after a history of posting controversial comments on social media was reportedly found dead in his home.
Mike Adams, 55, a senior professor of criminology, was found dead alone in his home when officers from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office conducted a welfare check at around 2 p.m. Thursday, he told CNN on Police spokesman Lt. Jerry Brewer.
Police are investigating his home on Windsong Road, but did not disclose any other details, according to News & Observer. Adams’ family and the university have been notified, Brewer said.
“We are saddened to share the news that the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation involving Dr. Mike Adams, professor of criminology. Please keep your friends and loved ones in your thoughts, “the university said in a statement.
Adams had reached a settlement agreement with the university for more than $ 500,000 and was scheduled to retire on August 1, according to the media outlet.
The professor had “a history of throwing out misogynistic, xenophobic, transphobic, homophobic and racist rhetoric,” said one of several Change.org petitions calling for his expulsion.
On May 28, Adams tweeted that universities should be allowed to remain open, while closing “nonessential majors.” Like women’s studies.
The next day, referring to Governor Roy Cooper, he tweeted: “Tonight I ate pizza and drank beer with six guys at a six-seat table. I almost felt like a free man who didn’t live in the slave state of North Carolina. Massa Cooper, let my people go!
Many found his use of the term “Massa” for master slave very offensive, although Adams told local WECT-TV that he was only referring to the governor’s repressive approach during the pandemic.
Adams also tweeted about people protesting the George Floyd police murder in Minneapolis, saying the protesters were “thugs looking for an opportunity to break the law with impunity.”
UNC Wilmington Chancellor Jose Sartarelli said the best way to resolve the dispute “quickly, with certainty and in the most fiscally responsible way” is to negotiate a deal for $ 504,702.76, the News & Observer reported.
People and organizations shared their condolences online as news of Adams’ death spread.
“We are devastated to learn of the death of @MikeSAdams. Professor Adams was a beloved freedom fighter and YAF speaker. Our prayers go out to his family, ”Young America’s Foundation, a national conservative campus organization, said on Twitter.
Conservative political blogger Stacey Matthews, who writes under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah, tweeted: “This is horrible. Simply Horrible Professor Mike Adams was a tireless advocate of the First Amendment and conservative values. It was recently reported that he was leaving UNCW, which saddened him for his views for years. ”
Meanwhile, UNCW professor LJ Randolph wrote: “Please mourn the death of Mike Adams, but do not sweeten your rhetoric as merely ‘controversial’ or ‘racially charged’.”
“He was blatantly racist, homophobic and sexist, and his own words left no room for interpretation of any of that,” he added.
.
