Woman fired by Indiana university over Charlie Kirk post to receive $225,000 legal settlement
A woman was fired by Indiana University for her Facebook post criticizes conservative activist Charlie Kirk The woman will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing her former employer of violating her freedom of expression after she was killed, her lawyers said Tuesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement last year in a federal lawsuit it filed on behalf of Suzanne Swierc against Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns.
Swierc was working as director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State’s campus in Muncie, Indiana, before he was fired last September. Ball State cited Swierc’s private Facebook post about Kirk as the sole reason for his termination, saying it caused “significant disruption” on campus.
ACLU of Indiana attorney Stevie Pactor said Swierc’s firing violated his constitutional rights because he was “speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern.”
“The First Amendment does not permit government agencies to retaliate under these circumstances, and this settlement reflects that,” Pactor said in a statement.
Mearns defended Swierc’s firing in a statement sent to campus leaders on Tuesday and shared with The Associated Press by a Ball State spokesperson.
Mearns said the backlash to Swierc’s post threatened to harm the school’s student enrollment and fundraising. He said the settlement’s “modest monetary payment” to Swierc was significantly less than the cost of fighting the case.
Kirk, founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA Killed by a gunman on September 10 on the campus of a Utah university. Kirk’s reputation before his death mobilizing the votes of conservative youth To help President Donald Trump win a second term.
Others fired for kirk positions earned six-figure settlements
Swierc was among a wave of workers. they lost their jobs in both the public and private sectors after comments and memes about Kirk’s assassination appeared on social media. And he’s not the first person to win a legal settlement in court.
Earlier this month, a Florida state agency acknowledged: Pay $485,000 To settle a lawsuit filed by a former state biologist who was fired after reposting a meme claiming that Kirk wouldn’t care about children being shot at school.
Austin Peay State University in Tennessee in January The professor was reinstated and awarded him $500,000 in damages after he sued in 2023 after he was fired for publishing a news headline that read: “Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths Are ‘Unfortunately’ Worth Holding the 2nd Amendment.”
The cases of other dismissed workers are still ongoing.
Ball State says employee’s post sparked outrage
Swierc called Kirk’s killing a “tragedy” in a Facebook post. But he also called it “a reflection of the violence, fear and hatred that he sows.” He wrote: “If you think Charlie Kirk is a great person, we can’t be friends.”
Swierc’s lawyers said the privacy settings of Swierc’s Facebook page blocked his posts from the general public, but someone took a screenshot of his comments about Kirk, which were shared widely online.
Ball State’s president said Swierc’s post prompted a flood of angry phone calls and emails to the university. Some warned they would cut donations, and at least one parent said he planned to pull his children out of school. Mearns said some of the callers were threatening violence.
“This response has been extraordinarily damaging to our University’s reputation and image and is deeply disturbing to our mission and employees,” Mearns said in the statement.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
