A former Georgia teacher, Michelle Mickens, has reached a settlement with the Oglethorpe County School District after it took action against her for a post about the death of Charlie Kirk.
“I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.- Charlie Kirk,” Mickens’s initial post read, quoting Kirk.
She went on to say, “I don’t condone violence of any kind, and I certainly don’t condone this, but he was a horrible person, a fascist full of hate for anyone who was different. While I’m sad that we live in a country where gun violence is an epidemic, the world is a bit safer without him.
“I didn’t respect him at all, and he’s part of the hatred and vitriolic language we hear so much now. I pray that without him, people can be kinder and more tolerant to one another.”
Sam Boyd, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) senior supervising attorney, said of the settlement, “We are pleased to reach a mutually amicable settlement of this matter. As courts across the country have recognized in other cases involving firings over comments about Charlie Kirk, and many other topics, ‘public school employees, including teachers, have a constitutionally protected right to free speech.'”
Last week, a similar settlement was reached with a professor at the University of Tennessee, who is set to receive nearly $2 million after officials sought to remove her after she shared social media posts condemning Kirk. Clemson University settled a lawsuit with an assistant professor who condemned Kirk. Under the agreement, the university will pull its decision to fire the professor and will pay them through the end of his employment term.
