Ferris State University in Michigan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A professor of physical science at a Michigan university has been placed on administrative leave after he unleashed a series of tweets that invoked antisemitic, racist and homophobic tropes as he asserted that the coronavirus pandemic was a “stunt” to create a “new world order.”

The tweets by Thomas Brennan, a professor at Ferris State University (FSU), included references to a “Jewish mafia,” a claim that “Covid19 is another jewish revolution,” and a defense of his use of the “n-word” as a means to “neutralize its power.”

FSU President David Eisler announced on Monday that Brennan had been placed on administrative leave following his remarks, and said the university condemned the professor’s offensive statements, local news outlet MLive reported.

“Our University was founded on the concept that education is for all of the people all of the time, that all people are welcome here,” Eisler said.

“We strongly reject these statements, condemn them and will not tolerate them,” he added. “We have worked diligently to become a more diverse university, and these statements demonstrate vividly how one person can set back the work of many.”

In a separate statement in which he robustly defended himself, Brennan denied being an antisemite.

“I do not believe that middle-class Jews are involved in an international conspiracy, only that a small number of their elites are,” he explained. “Israel and the Jews should not be blamed for the crimes of a small number of mobsters like Jeffery Epstein or Ghislane Maxwell [sic] who used pedophile blackmail to control American politicians. I’m not an antisemite. I love and respect Jews just as I do all races, and I pray for Israel, just as I pray for America.”

Brennan went on to warn that the “entire world has fallen under the spell of a satanic, globalist elite.”

“Their end-goal is a technocratic, one-world government, where everyone, Jew and Gentile, will be microchipped and tracked 24/7,” he said.