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.<\/p>\n
In May, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida entered an order \u201cimposing sanctions\u201d on an FWC official and law firm in relation to the case.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t saddened by Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s rights by terminating her over resharing a meme on her private Instagram story.<\/p>\n
FWC is expected to pay Brown $275,000 for back wages and compensatory damages and another $210,000 in attorney\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
Brown said state employees deserve better and this case reflects poorly on how the government uses Floridians\u2019 tax dollars.<\/p>\n
All I wanted was my job back. I see no leaders amongst FWC \u2018leadership,\u2019 but that\u2019s to be expected when a state agency becomes the governor\u2019s personal puppet show. The \u2018Free State of Florida\u2019 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\u2019 tax dollars to line the pockets of the governor\u2019s 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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
More Tallahassee news:<\/p>\n
According to Brown\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cengaging in vexatious litigation on behalf of the state.\u201d That trial is scheduled for June 2026, per the press release.<\/p>\n
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