In a now viral post, Austin food blogger Caleb Newton said the Texas Comptroller’s Office fired him from his job as a social media manager for posting a TikTok that got 33,000 views encouraging people to attend October’s “No Kings” protest.

“I’ll be talking to a multitude of different First Amendment lawyers to see what they think about my case,” said Newton.

Newton is calling his firing an attack on protected political speech and a violation of his First Amendment rights.

“State employees on their free personal time have the right to speak out about politics. I posted the video on my personal device, personal time,” Newton said. “The leadership in the agency, they don’t respect the law. And of course, they terminated me because of the video.”

The Texas State Employees Union called out the state during a Monday rally over a growing trend of firing public employees.

Texas A&M University fired an English professor after a video of her discussing gender went viral on X. The school’s president at the time, Mark Welsh, also left the university due to political backlash. Former Texas State University faculty recruiter, Katrina Meadors says she lost her job after she posted her dissatisfaction of the university removing a student who mocked conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death. And former Texas State University professor Tom Alter was fired after making negative comments about the U.S. government at a socialist conference outside of work hours in September. Alter continues to appeal the decision.

Monday’s rally coincides with the Texas State University System Board of Regents hearing. The nine-member board appointed by the governor will determine whether to reinstate Alter.

“If this was a true democratic and due process hearing, I would not be out here speaking to you right now. I’d be inside there pleading my case, and we’d be going through the evidence. Instead, we’re out here having a rally using our free speech and democratic rights,” said Alter.

There are over 400,000 state employees in Texas, and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) believes threatening their ability to speak freely impacts policy-driven conversations.

“I think when people see others being fired just for expressing political opinions off the clock, that’s going to have a serious chilling effect. Many other people, other public employees will self-censor for fear that if they say something in their personal lives that some government official dislikes, that they’ll be out of a job,” said Aaron Terr, the director of public advocacy for FIRE.

Unlike Alter who is fighting for his job back, Newton won’t try to return. Instead, he plans to apply to jobs out of state.

“I love the Texas Comptroller agency. I love the team. They surrounded me in love and support after I was let go,” he said. “But I just don’t foresee myself working for the state government anytime soon. It’s very clear what their strategy of the leadership is, and it’s pushing people like me out who don’t agree with them. And I just don’t find that very comforting to work for people like that.”

Policy experts say there needs to be a strong a cultural commitment to protect First Amendment rights, which aligns with Newton’s message to other state employees who fear retaliation.

“I say like and comment away. They can’t fire us all,” said Newton.

The comptroller’s office did not respond to request for comment.