The College Fix

A University of Oregon administrator who had been placed on leave after expressing “hope” in an Instagram video that Donald Trump supporters would “go jump off a f***ing bridge” no longer works at the university.

An UO spokesperson confirmed to KOIN Oregon in late December that Leonard Serrato no longer works at the university. The Daily Emerald student newspaper also reported that it reviewed a newer personal Instagram video posted Dec. 20 by Serrato in which he confirmed the news.

But the former assistant director of fraternity and sorority life also reportedly said his words were misconstrued and warped by news outlets and others on social media.

“Once it went viral, the theme of my video changed. [They] turned the narrative into me telling all Trump supporters to unalive themselves,” Serrato reportedly said in his Dec. 20 video. “Because of this, I was then doxxed on Twitter. Not only was my work email, my personal email, my address, my family’s address back in Los Banos, and my cellphone number.”

The Emerald also reported that “Serrato said that he received over 2,000 forms of harassment and threats toward the university and himself. He said that the harassment included homophobic slurs, ‘fatphobic’ slurs and racial slurs, as well as various threats of violence.”

At the time, Serrato had been placed on administrative leave, with a university official stating at the time: “As a public university we take our duty seriously to provide an environment that welcomes diversity of thought and respect in alignment with our education mission. While we investigate, we are providing support for concerned students and employees, including resources for mental and emotional health.”

As The College Fix previously reported, in the now-deleted video, Serrato expressed his anger after learning that Trump had won the presidential election.

“My anger has set in,” he said. “I am a very petty person, and I am very proud of that – love it about myself actually.”

“And so I say this in the most disrespectful way possible. I don’t care if you are my family, I don’t care if you’re my friend. … You can literally go f*** yourself if you voted for Donald Trump.”

Serrato said Americans who are upset about higher grocery prices should “get a better f***ing paying job” and a better education.

“Do something because you’re f***ing stupid, and I hope you go jump off a f***ing bridge,” he said.

Assistant Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life at @uoregon tells Trump supporters to kiII themselves

Any comment @uoregon? pic.twitter.com/hwK0qhH9b1

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024

In November, Aaron Terr, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told The Fix that Serrato’s remarks appeared to be protected speech – “even if they deeply offend others.”

The only issue would be if “the university can show it is so disruptive to its operations or so impairs Serrato’s ability to do his job that this outweighs his strong interest in speaking on matters of public importance,” Terr had said.

MORE: U. Oregon administrator on leave after wishing Trump voters would ‘f***ing’ kill themselves

IMAGE: University of Oregon

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