Brooklyn Professor Forced Into Psych Ward for 'Threatening' White People on Twitter

By Katie Kausch

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — Cops forced Rutgers University lecturer and Greenpoint resident Kevin Allred to undergo a psychiatric evaluation Tuesday at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, after the Rutgers University Police Department contacted the New York City Police Department (NYPD) about one of Allred's tweets.

Allred, who is white, had said in a Nov. 10 tweet: "Will the 2nd amendment be as cool when I buy a gun and start shooting at random white people or no...?"

"We were informed by Rutgers PD that he made threats to kill white people and he was subsequently taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation," an NYPD spokesperson told Patch.

Allred was not arrested or charged with a crime.

"The Rutgers University Police Department responded to a complaint from a student and took all appropriate action. We have no further comment," E.J. Miranda, a spokesperson for the university, said in a statement.

"Rutgers police contacted the 94th Precinct and requested a wellness check be conducted on the professor, based on comments he made in the classroom and on Twitter about killing white people," Kellyann Ort, a spokeswoman for the NYPD, told Patch. "Based on these comments, he was transported to Bellevue Hospital for psychological evaluation."

Allred serves as an adjunct professor in the Women's and Gender Studies Department at Rutgers. He's an outspoken feminist, best known for teaching a class on the intersection of politics and Beyonce. He did not return Patch's requests for comment.

The professor told his online followers that Twitter temporarily suspended his account after the "white people" tweet. He said he was forced to delete the tweet in to have the account reactivated. (Although you can still find an archived version on the WaybackMachine).

Allred argued that while his comment had been controversial, it was far from criminal. He said he's been in touch with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to discuss next steps.

Allred was released from Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday night, according to his Twitter feed. A representative for the hospital did not respond to requests for comment.

Allred's story quickly gained traction on social media. Many rallied in support of his cause, including the popular feminist writer Jessica Valenti.

A feminist Rutgers lecturer was forced by police to undergo a psych eval because of his political tweets. It begins https://t.co/uga2LTWSmK
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) November 16, 2016

Lead photo of Bellevue Hospital by Teri Tynes/Flickr