TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The former Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) scientist who was fired over a Charlie Kirk social media post has reached a $485,000 settlement with the state.
In May, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida entered an order “imposing sanctions” on an FWC official and law firm in relation to the case.
Brittney Brown, a biologist who worked at the Tyndall Air Force Base Critical Wildlife Area, was fired last year for sharing a post that said whales weren’t saddened by Kirk’s death.
The ACLU of Florida represented Brown in the federal First Amendment lawsuit against the FWC. The lawsuit claimed that FWC Executive Director Roger Young and Habitat and Species Conservation Director Melissa Tucker violated Brown’s rights by terminating her over resharing a meme on her private Instagram story.
FWC is expected to pay Brown $275,000 for back wages and compensatory damages and another $210,000 in attorney’s fees and costs. The state organization is also expected to give the former state employee a neutral reference for future employment and allow her to interact with FWC staff and resources.
Brown said state employees deserve better and this case reflects poorly on how the government uses Floridians’ tax dollars.
All I wanted was my job back. I see no leaders amongst FWC ‘leadership,’ but that’s to be expected when a state agency becomes the governor’s personal puppet show. The ‘Free State of Florida’ only provides First Amendment protections to those in favor with the current administration, while the rest of us are expected to fall in line or risk losing our livelihoods. FWC would rather send an official to make a fraudulent, defamatory statement in federal court than admit any wrongdoing. This administration would rather spend Floridians’ tax dollars to line the pockets of the governor’s chosen law firms than admit they made a poor, politically motivated decision. Someone made sure to alert Libs of Tik Tok that FWC had fired me — ten minutes after meeting with me and well before communicating with the public. These concerning practices underscore the extent to which political pressure from Tallahassee is influencing our state agencies. FWC employees deserve better, and so do Floridians.
More Tallahassee news:
According to Brown’s attorneys, state officials said her private post led to major disruptions in operations and hundreds of public complaints but evidence during the case revealed that those claims were false.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida entered an order reprimanding both an FWC official for submitting a false affidavit and the law firm of Lawson Huck Gonzalez for “engaging in vexatious litigation on behalf of the state.” That trial is scheduled for June 2026, per the press release.
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