People fired or jailed over social media posts about Charlie Kirk’s assassination have collected more than $1.5 million in First Amendment settlements through mid-2026, according to case records compiled by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the ACLU. The largest payout, $835,000, went to a retired Tennessee sheriff’s deputy who spent 37 days in jail over a Facebook meme. Fired public employees in Florida, Indiana, and South Carolina have won separate five- and six-figure settlements, and at least a dozen more cases remain in litigation.
The $835,000 Tennessee Jailing
Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old retiree with 34 years in law enforcement and 24 years in the National Guard, was arrested in September 2025 after posting a meme showing President Donald Trump with the caption “We have to get over it,” a line attributed to Trump after a 2024 school shooting in Perry, Iowa.1Tennessee Lookout. Perry County Pays $835K to Settle Lawsuit After Sheriff Jailed Man for 37 Days Over Trump Meme
Perry County, Tennessee, Sheriff Nick Weems alleged the meme threatened Perry County High School, though the referenced shooting had occurred in a town of the same name 500 miles away. Bushart was charged with felony threatening of mass violence, held on $2 million bail, and jailed for 37 days before prosecutors dropped the charge in October 2025. FIRE later noted that Weems admitted in a media interview he had known at the time of arrest that the meme referenced Iowa, a fact left out of the warrant application.2FIRE. Victory: Tennessee Man Jailed 37 Days for Trump Meme Wins $835,000 Settlement While incarcerated, Bushart lost his medical transport job, missed his wedding anniversary, and missed the birth of his granddaughter.3PBS NewsHour. A Tennessee Man Was Jailed Over His Charlie Kirk Social Media Comments. Now He’s Won a Settlement
Bushart filed a federal civil rights suit in December 2025 in the Western District of Tennessee, alleging First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.4Ars Technica (Court Document). Bushart v. Perry County Complaint The county’s insurer paid the $835,000 settlement on May 20, 2026, without admitting fault.5The Guardian. Settlement for Man Jailed Over Charlie Kirk Post Sheriff Weems defended the arrest publicly, saying the post caused “multiple, reasonable citizens to be in fear of their children’s safety at school.”6WWLP. Former Tennessee Police Officer Jailed Over Charlie Kirk Meme Awarded Settlement No disciplinary action against Weems or his investigator has been reported.
Public Employees Fired and Paid
$485,000 to a Florida Biologist
Brittney Brown had worked at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 14 years when she posted, on a private Instagram account, that whales cared about Kirk’s death exactly as much as Kirk cared about children being shot in classrooms. She was fired on September 15, 2025, one day after the account “Libs of TikTok” identified her workplace.7Clarion Ledger. Brittney Brown Charlie Kirk Instagram Post First Amendment Consequences
During litigation, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker sanctioned the agency after Brown’s former supervisor testified under oath that the post drew hundreds of complaints when discovery showed only about 50.8CBS12. Florida Biologist Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post Wins $485,000 Settlement Brown’s June 2026 settlement of $485,000 broke down as $235,000 for loss of employment, $40,000 in back pay, and $210,000 in attorney fees. She agreed not to seek future employment with the agency.9Tallahassee Democrat. Florida Will Pay $485,000 to Employee Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post
$225,000 from Ball State University
Suzanne Swierc, director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State University, was fired after a Facebook post calling Kirk’s killing a “tragedy” and “a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed.” Though set to private, the post was screenshotted and circulated through the Indiana Attorney General’s “Eyes on Education” portal.10Fox 5 Vegas. Woman Fired by Indiana University Over Charlie Kirk Post to Receive $225,000 Legal Settlement
The ACLU of Indiana sued on her behalf, and the university settled for $225,000 in late May 2026, also agreeing to let its employees serve as references for her. Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns said he stood by the firing and that the settlement did not vindicate her claims.11Fox 59. Ball State Pays Ex-Employee $225K Over Charlie Kirk Post
Salary and Benefits Restored at Clemson
Joshua Bregy, a Clemson University assistant professor, was fired on September 16, 2025, the day after sharing a Facebook post that condemned violence but added, “it sounds to me like karma is sometimes swift and ironic.” Two other Clemson employees were fired over similar posts and did not sue.12SC Daily Gazette. Clemson Professor Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post Will Get Paid but Won’t Teach
A mediated settlement in January 2026 rescinded Bregy’s termination, restored his salary of roughly $91,000 and benefits through May 15, 2026, and required positive letters of recommendation. Bregy resigned effective that date and agreed not to teach or conduct research for the remainder of the semester.13ACLU of South Carolina. Fired Clemson Faculty Member Wins Settlement After Being Fired for a Facebook Post About Charlie Kirk
Cases Still Pending
FIRE has said it is tracking at least 13 lawsuits arising from firings over Kirk-related speech.14NPR. Free Speech Lawsuits Since Kirk Killing A few of the largest:
At the University of South Dakota, tenured art professor Michael Hook sued after facing termination for a Facebook post calling Kirk a “hate-spreading Nazi.” Governor Larry Rhoden had publicly endorsed the firing. On September 24, 2025, Judge Karen Schreier granted a temporary restraining order, finding Hook had a “fair chance” of prevailing on his First Amendment claim under the Pickering v. Board of Education workplace-disruption test. The university withdrew the termination on October 3, 2025, and Hook returned to teaching. His case remained active as of June 2026.15South Dakota Public Broadcasting. USD Professor’s Freedom of Speech Case Has First Hearing16FIRE. University of South Dakota Professor Fired for Social Media Post About Charlie Kirk Assassination
In Tennessee, FIRE sued on behalf of Monica Meeks, an Army veteran fired from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance on September 12, 2025, over a Facebook comment reading, “The way you tap dance for a White Supremacist should be studied!” Commissioner Carter Lawrence said the comment “revealed bias and disregard toward the very people she was tasked with serving.” The case is pending in the Middle District of Tennessee.17WKRN. State Employee Fired for Kirk Comment Files Federal Suit
In Texas, the American Federation of Teachers sued the Texas Education Agency in January 2026 over a September 12, 2025, directive that required superintendents to report educators for “reprehensible and inappropriate” posts about Kirk. The agency received more than 350 complaints, with 95 investigations still open in early 2026, though no state-level discipline had been imposed.18Texas Tribune. Texas Education Agency Charlie Kirk Investigations Lawsuit
Why So Many Cases
What separates this wave of lawsuits from ordinary employment disputes is the visible role of high-ranking officials in pressing for firings. On September 15, 2025, Vice President JD Vance told listeners of The Charlie Kirk Show: “When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out, and hell, call their employer.” Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said the office of the vice president gives such statements a coercive weight they would not carry from a private citizen, raising the question of unconstitutional “jawboning” of employers.14NPR. Free Speech Lawsuits Since Kirk Killing
A Reuters investigation published in November 2025 counted more than 600 Americans fired, suspended, or disciplined by employers over Kirk-related comments.19American Enterprise Institute. Online Expression During Year One of Trump’s Second Presidential Term Governor Rhoden’s endorsement of the Hook firing was cited by the federal judge in that case as part of the reason to block the termination, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott publicly endorsed the state’s teacher-reporting process.14NPR. Free Speech Lawsuits Since Kirk Killing
FIRE has repeatedly cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Watts v. United States for the proposition that heated political rhetoric is fully protected by the First Amendment, and courts so far have treated the fired employees’ posts as speech on matters of public concern rather than unprotected threats or workplace disruption.2FIRE. Victory: Tennessee Man Jailed 37 Days for Trump Meme Wins $835,000 Settlement
One boundary worth noting: several states have enacted laws bearing Kirk’s name, including Tennessee’s Charlie Kirk Act signed on May 1, 2026, and Kansas’s KIRK Act enacted over a gubernatorial veto in April 2026. Those statutes govern campus speakers, institutional neutrality, and free-speech zones at public universities.20FIRE. Victory: FIRE-Supported Campus Speech Bill Signed into Law by Tennessee Governor21Kansas Reflector. Kansas Legislature Overturns Veto to Pass Free Speech Bill Honoring Charlie Kirk They do not create new remedies for the employees whose firings produced the settlements above; those cases continue to be brought under the First Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.