A University of Utah student photographed last week with a cake that declared “Happy Kirkiversary” in red frosting has apologized for joking about the assassination a year ago of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

But the fallout from outrage and debate online remains serious enough to involve campus police and prompted a response from the school Monday.

After a number of prominent conservative commentators — including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani — shared personal information about the student and her family online, she is “unable to go to campus and scared for her family’s safety,” according to the school’s College Democrats Club.

Members of both that club and College Republicans say they have been harassed and threatened online in recent days, with at least one Republican student making a report to campus police.

Ian Jacobson, a member of the school’s College Democrats, said he thinks it was inappropriate to joke about Kirk’s death, but added: “Unleashing the right-wing mob on somebody who’s made a joke, especially a teenager … [and] destroying their life, is not a proportional response.”

However, Riley Beesley, chairman of the Utah College Republicans, said the posts sharing personal information about the student were a question of “accountability” and he did not condemn them.

Parents, alumni and donors to the university, he said, “deserve to know the radical political ideologies that are festering on college campuses in Utah, and especially the University of Utah.”

In a statement Monday, the U. said it supports the “freedom of expression, including speech that may be controversial, offensive or deeply upsetting.”

The U. ”is aware of social media activity involving members of our campus community that has generated significant online attention and concern, including reports of threats and harassment,” the statement read. It included a link to the school’s speech policy and said the school was working directly with the students affected.

The university also “is reviewing the circumstances surrounding this matter consistent with university policy and applicable law,” the statement read. “Because those processes involve individual students, we will not discuss specific student matters publicly.”

Student Sara Larsen was photographed with the cake last Thursday, on the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s shooting death at Utah Valley University.

According to Beesley and reporting in the U.’s student newspaper, The Daily Utah Chronicle, the school’s College Republicans group was tabling on campus when Larsen approached members with the cake. A photo of Larsen holding it was originally posted by University of Utah College Republicans Vice President Rylie Barnes on her X account last week.

“What is wrong with students in Utah??” Barnes wrote. She did not include any personal information about Larsen in the original Thursday post, though Larsen’s face is visible. As of Monday afternoon, the post was still up, with more than 10,000 likes and 6.3 million views.

The next day, an account called “Aesthetica,” which often posts about conservative politics and has more than 500,000 followers on X, used Barnes’ photo and posted personal information about Larsen and her family.

“Meet Sara Larsen. Sara thought it was funny to bake a cake and show up to a Charlie Kirk memorial celebrating his murder,” the post on the account read, with screenshots of Larsen’s Linkedin profile and information about her father’s workplace. The post, as of Monday, remains up with more than 127,000 likes and 19.5 million views.

Later Friday, Larsen publicly apologized.

“Yesterday I made a joke about Charlie Kirk’s murder. My actions and my words are my own. I do not represent anyone other than myself,” she wrote. “Upon reflection, it was wrong for me to celebrate, or perpetuate the celebration of, Charlie Kirk’s death. I apologize for doing so sincerely. Nobody should be murdered or persecuted for their speech.”

In response to Larsen’s post, Giuliani — a former advisor to President Donald Trump with more than 1.3 million followers on the platform — shared the photo of Larsen, her father and her LinkedIn profile. He also included the phone number for Larsen’s father’s company and called on people to call his workplace and “find out if their CEO condones the murder of people you disagree with politically.”

Larsen and her father did not respond to requests for comment or an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune. Barnes, who made the original post with the photo of Larsen, also did not respond to a request for a comment.

Jacobson said College Democrats have been pushing for Barnes to remove the original post, and they are concerned about Larsen’s safety.

Beesley said none of the posts sharing personal information about Larsen were shared by members of the college Republicans.

“I have to say that it’s really interesting that [posting information about Larsen has] been the topic of discussion,” he said, adding that he thinks people should instead be asking how Kirk’s family feels on the anniversary of his death.

“What kind of state or what kind of society do we want to live in when it is celebrated that somebody was assassinated?” he asked.

Under Utah state law, doxxing is illegal. It is defined in part as the “disclosure of personal information with intent to cause electronic communication harassment … with intent that electronic communication harassment occur.”

According to state code, the disclosure of an adult’s identifying information in an effort to cause electronic communication is a class B misdemeanor on the first offense.