Lars Maischak, the Fresno State history professor who became the subject of nationwide controversy following his “Trump must hang” tweet, apologized for his actions in a written statement given to The Bee on Wednesday morning.
In addition, Maischak said that he has deleted his Twitter account and is “prepared to take full responsibility for my statements.”
Maischak posted the comment on Twitter in February but it did not garner attention until the right-wing website Breitbart News wrote a story about it Saturday.
Maischak also made other inflammatory tweets that were pointed out by commenters on The Fresno Bee website com and were included in a column by The Bee’s Bill McEwen.
Here is Maischak’s statement:
“I apologize for the tone and content of my statements made on Twitter.
“I ask forgiveness of those who felt threatened or offended by them.
“It was never my intent to harm anyone, nor to encourage others to harm anyone.
“My statements each represent the end point of a dark train of thought triggered by my despair over the actions of the present U.S. government.
“That is what I meant by calling them ‘dark predictions.’
“It felt cathartic at the time to write them down.
“With 28 followers on Twitter at the time, I never expected them to be read by anyone but a close circle of acquaintances who would know to place them in their context.
“To treat Twitter as of no more consequence than a journal was a poor decision.
“I have deleted my Twitter account, to preclude the possibility that anyone reading my statements in the future would take them as encouragement to act violently or unlawfully.
“In this spirit, I am prepared to take full responsibility for my statements.”
Fresno State President Joseph Castro released this statement following the apology: “I appreciate Dr. Maischak’s apology and willingness to take accountability for the statements made on his Twitter account. In his note to me, Dr. Maischak reiterated that it was not his intent to incite violence or harm others, however, Fresno State has a responsibility to continue a review of the situation. As previously stated, the University takes this matter seriously and is handling it in accordance with applicable law, policy and the requirements of the faculty collective bargaining unit agreement.”
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