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A lecturer who confronted and flipped off a conservative student has been removed from the classroom as a safety measure, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the lecturer said Thursday.

“This decision was made with the lecturer’s safety concerns in mind,” UNL spokesman Steve Smith said in an email.

The lecturer, Courtney Lawton, said Thursday evening that she was no longer in the classroom “because of the nature of hostile emails and online threats” against her.

It was done “for my security and the security of my students,” she said.

Lawton said Donde Plowman, UNL’s executive vice chancellor, told her the reassignment was not a disciplinary measure.

Lawton said “right-wing extremists’ reaction” to the incident made the situation volatile.

On Aug. 25, Lawton flipped off a UNL sophomore who sat at a table recruiting students for Turning Point USA, a conservative organization.

Lawton also referred to the student, Kaitlyn Mullen of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, as “neo-fascist Becky” and said the student “wants to destroy public schools, public universities, hates DACA kids.”