Florida forced to pay $550,000 to state workers fired over Charlie Kirk posts

Public employees in the United States can retain First Amendment protection when speaking as private citizens on matters of public concern, while private employers generally are not bound by the First Amendment when disciplining workers. Florida is finding out what that distinction can cost. The state has now paid $615,000 to settle three lawsuits from wildlife agency staff fired over social media posts about Charlie Kirk.

Brittney Brown, a biologist who spent more than seven years studying shorebirds and seabirds for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, settled for $485,000, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. A second former employee, Haley Massung, settled for $65,000.

Brown was on vacation and using a private Instagram account when she reposted a satirical message from a parody whale account. The post mocked Kirk’s position that some gun deaths were an acceptable price for keeping the Second Amendment. After the conservative account Libs of TikTok shared a screenshot and called for her firing, the agency terminated her the next day and announced it publicly as a zero-tolerance decision.

The state said her post disrupted the agency, but the evidence told a different story

The agency argued in court that Brown’s post caused significant disruption to its operations. The ACLU of Florida, which represented her, said the evidence showed those claims were false. The state settled rather than let a jury weigh it, as a June trial date was approaching.

Brown received $275,000 personally, made up of $235,000 in compensatory damages and $40,000 in back pay, with Florida covering another $210,000 in legal fees. She had wanted her job back throughout the case. Instead, the agreement bars her from seeking future employment at the agency. However, it guarantees her a neutral reference and lets her work with agency staff as an outside partner.

Massung was fired within days of Kirk’s killing after commenting “rest in p—” on a social media post about his death. She later settled her case for $65,000. Taylor Ozimek was fired separately after writing that, as Kirk himself once said about gun deaths, it was “worth it.” Ozimek had initially sought reinstatement and back pay, but she also agreed to a $65,000 settlement. Her deal brought Florida’s total payout in the three cases to $615,000.

These firings were part of a national push, as activists worked to identify and report people for their online comments. Vice President JD Vance told listeners of Kirk’s own show to call out anyone celebrating the murder and to contact their employer. Hundreds of workers across the country faced professional consequences.

The dispute adds to broader scrutiny over how federal and state agencies exercise their power, including a recent case in which immigration officers detained a Navy sailor’s father. But the Florida cases raise a different constitutional question because the government was acting as the workers’ employer.

US District Judge Mark Walker, who handled all three suits, refused to dismiss most of Brown’s case. Courts weigh an employee’s speech against an agency’s need for a functioning workplace under the Pickering standard.

With other Florida employment disputes over Kirk-related posts still unresolved, the public cost may not stop at $615,000.