The lawsuit filed by the board member stemmed from a social media post in December 2025, in which he made remarks towards the African American community.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Clay County School Board member is suing the City of Jacksonville, alleging their First Amendment rights were violated over a social media post.

Robert Alvero, who represents District 2 of the school board while also employed as a firefighter with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, was at the heart of a December 2025 controversy in which he uploaded a video to Facebook discussing his feelings towards the African American community.



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“I have had 80% more negative experiences with the African American community in this country…than with white people,” Alvero said in the video. “Because they are good decent people, but that’s 20% of the people I have met that are African Americans. The other 80% have been nasty, they have been rude, they have been problematic, always trying to fight, always trying to disrespect.”

The video gained traction across the First Coast, including catching the eye of Florida Department of Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, who called the remarks “unprofessional” and “discriminatory.”

The newly filed lawsuit says that after the video was uploaded, Alvero was reprimanded by JFRD in March 2026 and received a Level 1 Written Reprimand and a mandatory Title VII race-compliance training course. Alvero had attempted to reject the reprimand with the Jacksonville Civil Service Board; however, that grievance was denied in September 2026.

Alvero’s lawsuit claims that he spoke as an off-duty, private citizen on a matter of public concern, citing Lane v. Franks as his defense. Alvero also claims that the City of Jacksonville had identified no operational harm.

Besides seeking costs for legal fees, the lawsuit seeks a declaration from the city that Alvero’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated, as well as an injunction expunging the reprimand from his file.

First Coast News reached out to JFRD for comment, and they said they are unable to comment on ongoing litigation.