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A St. Bonaventure University professor is facing backlash on social media after appearing to celebrate the death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in a social media post before deleting it less than 12 hours later, prompting renewed scrutiny of political rhetoric on college campuses.
A social media account identified as belonging to Ibrahim Zabad, a political science professor at the private university in western New York, posted a message late Saturday evening celebrating Graham’s death, using inflammatory language and ending with the phrase “Rest in Hell,” according to Campus Reform.
By early the following morning, at 5:09 a.m. according to Campus Reform, the same account had deleted the post and published an apology acknowledging the message was inappropriate, disrespectful and not compassionate.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died Saturday at the age of 71. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A screenshot of the Saturday X post dated at 11:56 p.m. reads, “He was a certified anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim bloodthirsty bigot. He personified belligerence and evil. He supported every savage war Israel launched against the Palestinians and the Lebanese and the Syrians and the Iranians and the Iraqis and the Yemenis.”
The post added, “He genuinely endorsed Israel’s genocidal war and unabashedly supported the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians from their native lands. He wholeheartedly and passionately supported the project of Greater Israel along with all the massacres, occupation, dispossession and savagery and barbarism that this entails. He was a merciless warmonger and bigot. Rest in Hell.”
The account bearing Zabad’s name and photo, which no longer appears to be active, posted an apology that read in part, “I want to sincerely apologize for the post regarding the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham. My words were inappropriate and disrespectful and failed to show compassion during time of loss and grief. I regretted the post and the words I used.”
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ABC’s “The View” co-hosts discuss the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham on July 13, 2026. (ABC/TheView)
A spokesperson for St. Bonaventure University told Digital in a statement that “we are aware of the post and subsequent apology by Dr. Zabad. His post about Sen. Graham was clearly not aligned with our university mission and values and we will be addressing the situation with him to ensure that Franciscan values are maintained and lived out at St. Bonaventure.”
Graham, 71, died Saturday night. An autopsy performed on Sunday suggested that Graham died from aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The news stunned Washington, as Graham was one of the body’s most active members and was even scheduled to appear on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning.
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A woman leaves flowers outside the office of the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham at Russell Senate Office Building on July 13, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
A statement from Graham’s office read, “The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized, and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death.”
Digital reached out to Zabad and Graham’s office for comment.
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