{"id":45399,"date":"2025-11-13T17:52:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/45399\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T17:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:52:09","slug":"college-employee-fights-firing-over-kirk-posts-tallahassee-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/45399\/","title":{"rendered":"College Employee Fights Firing Over Kirk Posts \u2013 Tallahassee Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By The News Service of Florida<\/p>\n

A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges Eastern Florida State College violated the First Amendment rights of an employee who was fired because of social-media posts after the murder of conservative leader Charlie Kirk. <\/p>\n

Attorneys for Erika Santos, who worked as a grant accountant at the Brevard County college, filed the lawsuit in U.S. district court in Orlando. Kirk, who led the group Turning Point USA, was assassinated Sept. 10 during an appearance at Utah Valley University. <\/p>\n

Santos shared posts and wrote comments on a personal Facebook account after Kirk was shot. The college, which received an anonymous letter about the posts, suspended Santos on Sept. 18 and fired her on Oct. 16. In part, the college alleged in a termination letter that Santos\u2019 comments \u201cappeared to condone if not celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk,\u201d according to the lawsuit. But Santos\u2019 attorneys argued in the lawsuit that the \u201cprivate social-media posts were political speech on a matter of public concern\u201d and that the firing involved retaliation and discrimination barred by the First Amendment. <\/p>\n

\u201cSantos\u2019 Facebook activity was entirely outside of and unrelated to her job responsibilities, which involved grant accounting,\u201d the lawsuit said. \u201cHer posts addressed issues of public concern, including political violence, gender equity, racial equity, and freedom of expression. Her posts did not disrupt EFSC (Eastern Florida State College) operations and no disruption was reasonably foreseeable.\u201d <\/p>\n

The lawsuit is one of numerous First Amendment disputes in Florida and other states stemming from workers\u2019 social-media posts after Kirk\u2019s death. Tallahassee-based U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Monday held a hearing in a lawsuit against Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials over the firing of biologist Brittney Brown because of a post. Brown is seeking a preliminary injunction and reinstatement to her job.<\/p>\n

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