Turning Point USA lawsuits fall into a few distinct groups: First Amendment cases the group has filed against public universities that restricted its student chapters, a defamation case filed against TPUSA over its Professor Watchlist, a Federal Election Commission fine against its affiliate Turning Point Action, and a wave of free speech suits filed by workers fired for social media posts after founder Charlie Kirk was killed in September 2025. The organization has also used cease-and-desist letters, both before and after Kirk’s death, to push back on media coverage and conspiracy claims.
Campus Free Speech Suits TPUSA Has Filed
TPUSA’s most consistent legal activity has been suing public colleges that blocked its student chapters from tabling, distributing literature, or receiving recognition. The suits, generally brought with Alliance Defending Freedom, tend to follow the same arc: the chapter is shut down or denied status, a First Amendment complaint alleging viewpoint discrimination follows, and the school revises its policy and pays fees.
Macomb Community College
In April 2017, campus police at Macomb Community College in Michigan stopped three TPUSA students, one wearing a T-Rex costume, from handing out fossil-fuel literature and gathering signatures. Officers cited a policy that required advance permission from administrators for public expression, warned the students they could be treated as trespassers, confined permitted speech to a zone covering less than 0.001 percent of campus, and exempted labor unions from the requirement.1Detroit Free Press. Macomb Community College Free Speech Case
TPUSA and the students sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.2ADF Media. Turning Point USA at Macomb Community College v. Macomb Community College On November 8, 2017, the college agreed to stop enforcing the advance-permission requirement, open all outdoor areas generally open to the public to student speech, and pay $10,000 in attorney fees to ADF and $100 to the student group. The case was dismissed five days later.3Climate Case Chart. Turning Point USA (TPUSA) v. Macomb Community College
Arkansas State University
Student Ashlyn Hoggard and the Arkansas State TPUSA chapter sued after administrators stopped them in October 2017 from setting up a table in a campus common area, citing an unwritten rule reserving the space for registered student organizations and university departments.4FindLaw. Turning Point USA at Arkansas State University v. Rhodes
In August 2020, the Eighth Circuit found the unwritten tabling policy unconstitutional as applied to Hoggard, because the school offered no rational reason to treat individual students differently from registered organizations. The court still ruled for the university on liability, granting the officials qualified immunity because the specific right was not “clearly established” at the time. The request for injunctive relief was moot after Arkansas passed the FORUM Act protecting campus speech.4FindLaw. Turning Point USA at Arkansas State University v. Rhodes
SUNY Cortland
At SUNY Cortland, students Gabriella Delorenzo and Megan Rothmund were denied recognition for a TPUSA chapter after roughly 100 minutes of questioning about the group’s views by the Student Government Association. On appeal, university president Erik Bitterbaum reportedly told them, “We silence voices all the time in this country. That’s the tragedy and also the greatness of democracy.”5ADF Media. Turning Point USA at SUNY Cortland v. Cortland College Student Association
ADF sued in February 2024 alleging viewpoint discrimination. The chapter was recognized within two weeks, but the case continued until an August 5, 2024 settlement in which the Student Government Association agreed to revise its recognition process to include a formal appeal, and the school and student government agreed to pay $42,000.6ADF Legal. Turning Point USA at SUNY Cortland v. Cortland College Student Association
University of New Mexico
TPUSA’s University of New Mexico chapter and the Leadership Institute sued UNM after it tried to charge more than $5,000 in security fees for an October 2023 event featuring Riley Gaines, down from an initial quote above $10,000.7Reason. UNM Policy Used to Charge High Security Fees In September 2024, U.S. District Judge David Herrera Urias issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the security-fee policy for on-campus speech events, finding the rule gave administrators “overly broad discretion,” lacked clear standards, and created a risk of viewpoint discrimination.8Daily Lobo. UNM Loses Freedom of Speech Lawsuit Against Conservative Student Organization
Defamation Suit Against TPUSA: The Professor Watchlist
Jay Rosenstein, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, sued TPUSA in federal court in Arizona in July 2024 over his Professor Watchlist entry, which stated he “was arrested on January 22, 2018 for illegally filming a student who was using the urinal.” Rosenstein said the statement was false: the person filmed was not a student and was not using a urinal. He alleged the listing damaged his career and cost him faculty interviews.9Daily Illini. UI Professor Sues TPUSA, Withdraws Complaint After Resolution The parties reached an undisclosed resolution, and the complaint was withdrawn with prejudice in March 2025.
Federal Election Commission Fine
Turning Point Action, the affiliated social-welfare organization Kirk led, was fined $18,000 by the FEC in November 2024 for failing to disclose $33,795 in reportable contributions from donors giving more than $200. The action followed a 2021 complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington alleging the group solicited donations by promising the money would help reelect Donald Trump and defeat Joe Biden in 2020.10Citizens for Ethics. Turning Point Action Fined Following CREW Complaint
The FEC’s Office of General Counsel had recommended a broader inquiry into additional undisclosed donations tied to $1.4 million in independent expenditures, including from corporate donors, but the commission deadlocked 3-3 along party lines, with the three Republican commissioners blocking further investigation.10Citizens for Ethics. Turning Point Action Fined Following CREW Complaint
Lawsuits Following Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Kirk was fatally shot on September 14, 2025, during a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University. Tyler James Robinson, a 22-year-old from Washington, Utah, was charged with aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Erika Kirk has since taken over the organization.11CNN. Tyler Robinson Charlie Kirk Cameras Hearing
The killing set off a wave of firings, then First Amendment lawsuits. At least 50 people in education and roughly 600 in the private sector were reported fired over social media posts about Kirk’s death, according to USA Today. As of June 2026, settlements had exceeded $1.5 million, and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression was tracking 13 federal lawsuits tied to those terminations.12USA Today. Charlie Kirk Free Speech First Amendment TPUSA itself is not a party to these suits, but they trace directly to reactions to Kirk’s death.
Larry Bushart
Larry Bushart of Perry County, Tennessee, was arrested in September 2025 after sharing Facebook memes following Kirk’s death, including one that referenced a past Donald Trump quote about the 2024 Iowa school shooting and others accusing TPUSA of spreading hate. The Perry County Sheriff’s Office alleged the posts constituted a threat of a mass shooting at a local school. Sheriff Nick Weems later admitted to a television station that the claim was unfounded and that the meme referenced the Iowa incident rather than any local target.13Tennessee Lookout. Perry County Pays $835K to Settle Lawsuit After Sheriff Jailed Man for 37 Days Over Trump Meme
Bushart’s bail was set at $2 million and he spent 37 days in jail before all charges were dropped. Represented by FIRE, he sued in the Western District of Tennessee and settled with Perry County and Sheriff Weems for $835,000 in May 2026.14New York Times. Larry Bushart Charlie Kirk Facebook Settlement15FIRE. Larry Bushart v. Perry County
Brittney Brown
Florida state biologist Brittney Brown was fired from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in September 2025 within 24 hours of “Libs of TikTok” reposting a satirical Instagram story of hers referencing school shootings and Kirk’s death alongside her LinkedIn profile.16WLRN. Fired State Worker Sues Agency for Violating Her First Amendment Rights Over Charlie Kirk Repost
Represented by the ACLU of Florida, she sued in federal court alleging unlawful retaliation for protected speech. Florida settled for $485,000 in May 2026: $235,000 for loss of employment, $40,000 in back pay, and $210,000 in attorney fees. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ordered the fees after finding an FWC supervisor gave “false” testimony, claiming hundreds of complaints against Brown when there were 50, and that state lawyers had “doubled down” on that testimony. Brown agreed not to seek reinstatement.17Tallahassee Democrat. Florida Will Pay $485,000 to Employee Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post
Suzanne Swierc
Suzanne Swierc, a health promotion director at Ball State University, was fired in September 2025 over a private Facebook post saying Kirk’s death reflected “the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed” and adding, “If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends.” The post also condemned his killing. Ball State cited the post as the sole reason for the termination, saying it caused significant campus disruption, including threats and donor warnings.18ABC7. Suzanne Swierc Fired Ball State University Post Charlie Kirk Shooting Death Receives $225K Legal Settlement
The ACLU of Indiana sued on her behalf in September 2025, and Ball State agreed to a $225,000 settlement announced in May 2026.19New York Times. Ball State Charlie Kirk Settlement
Cease-and-Desist Letters
TPUSA has also relied on legal threats short of litigation. In January 2026, Candace Owens said on her podcast she had received a cease-and-desist letter from TPUSA demanding she stop suggesting that TPUSA staff were involved in Kirk’s murder.20Christian Post. TPUSA’s Cease and Desist Letter to Candace Owens: 4 Key Takeaways
In March 2026, Erika Kirk’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to Collin Scott Campbell, the Maryland operator of the “Project Constitution” brand, demanding he take down posts the letter described as falsely accusing Kirk of involvement in her husband’s assassination and in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking. The letter also addressed a purported “leaked DOJ wiretap audio” Campbell had posted, saying Erika Kirk was a high school student at the time of the recording and was not the speaker. The letter called itself a “preamble to a defamation suit” but said Kirk and TPUSA did not “desire litigation” at that time. Campbell replied that the content was his personal opinion and protected by the First Amendment, and had not complied with the demands as of late March 2026.21Hollywood Reporter. Erika Kirk TPUSA Cease and Desist Letter Project Constitution
An earlier legal threat followed a July 2022 episode of The View in which hosts suggested neo-Nazi demonstrators outside a TPUSA student summit in Florida were “tied to the event.” Joy Behar compared the demonstrators’ imagery to Joseph Goebbels’ tactics, and Whoopi Goldberg said TPUSA “metaphorically” embraced the Nazis. TPUSA sent a cease-and-desist letter to ABC News and promoted the hashtag #SuetheView. Co-host Sara Haines later read an on-air clarification that the demonstrators were outside the event, “not invited or endorsed by Turning Point USA,” that TPUSA “100 percent condemns those ideologies,” and that event security had tried to remove the demonstrators but could not because they were on public property.22The Independent. View Apology Cease Desist Turning Point