A woman who was terminated by an Indiana university due to a Facebook post criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, shortly after his death, will receive $225,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that her former employer infringed upon her free-speech rights, her legal representatives announced on Tuesday.
Settlement Details
The American Civil Liberties Union disclosed the settlement in a federal lawsuit it initiated last year on behalf of Suzanne Swierc against Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns. Swierc served as director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State's campus in Muncie, Indiana, until her dismissal in September. Ball State attributed the termination solely to Swierc's private Facebook post about Kirk, claiming it caused "significant disruption" to the campus environment.
Swierc's firing violated her constitutional rights as she was "speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern," stated Stevie Pactor, an ACLU attorney in Indiana. "The First Amendment does not permit government institutions to retaliate under such circumstances, and this settlement reflects that principle," Pactor said in a statement.
Mearns defended the decision to terminate Swierc in a statement sent Tuesday to campus leaders, which a Ball State spokesperson shared with The Associated Press. Mearns argued that the backlash from Swierc's post threatened to harm the university's student enrollment and fundraising efforts. He noted that the "modest monetary payment" to Swierc was substantially less than the cost of litigating her lawsuit.
Background on Charlie Kirk
Kirk, the founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was killed by a gunman on September 10 at a Utah university campus. Before his death, Kirk was recognized for galvanizing the conservative youth vote, contributing to President Donald Trump's re-election.
Other Similar Cases
Swierc was among numerous workers in both public and private sectors who lost their jobs after posting social media comments and memes about Kirk's assassination. She is not the first to secure a legal settlement. Earlier this month, a Florida state agency agreed to pay $485,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former state biologist fired for reposting a meme suggesting Kirk would not care about children being shot in school. In January, Austin Peay State University in Tennessee reinstated a professor and paid him a $500,000 settlement after he sued over his firing for posting a 2023 news headline: "Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths 'Unfortunately' Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment." Lawsuits by other fired workers are still pending.
Details of Swierc's Post
In her Facebook post, Swierc referred to Kirk's killing as a "tragedy" but also called it a "reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed." She wrote: "If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can't be friends." Swierc's attorneys stated that her Facebook page's privacy settings restricted her posts from the general public, but someone captured a screenshot of her comments on Kirk, which was widely shared online.
Ball State's president said Swierc's post triggered a flood of outraged phone calls and emails to the university. Some individuals threatened to withhold donations, and at least one parent indicated plans to withdraw her children from the school. Some callers made threats of violence, Mearns said. "The reaction was extraordinarily damaging to our University's reputation and image, and it was exceptionally disruptive to our mission and our people," Mearns stated.
