Texas State University staff member no longer with school after allegedly saying protesters are a ‘bunch of monkeys’

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State University officials confirmed Wednesday that an employee no longer works at the university after she allegedly called Black Lives Matter protesters a “bunch of monkeys."

Stacia Brassell, an administrative assistant for the university’s facilities department, was commenting on a Facebook Live of a Black Lives Matter protest in San Marcos posted by a Texas State University student last week. In her comments, Brassell posted racial slurs and threatened to spread COVID-19 if she attends a demonstration, The University Star, Texas State’s school newspaper, reported.

Twitter user @gabbyamaris, a friend of the student who posted the Facebook Live, captured screenshots of the live video containing Brassell’s comments and shared them on social media. She identified Brassell as an employee of the university.

The tweet went viral, catching the attention of the school’s Twitter account.

“This woman who works at [Texas State] feels comfortable enough to throw out racial slurs and threaten to spread COVID on Facebook,” she wrote. “This person should NOT be employed at our school. Hold her accountable.”

The school responded by saying Brassell’s supervisors and directors were being notified, according to a tweet.

“Texas State does not condone these posts and do not reflect Texas State’s values,” University officials wrote in a statement Wednesday. “At the core of who we are as Bobcats is our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and to protecting the health and safety of our community. Any employee sharing comments such as these does not represent our community.”