Ball State University will pay a former employee $225,000 after settling a federal lawsuit tied to a Facebook post about conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his death last year.
The settlement ends a legal battle brought by Suzanne Swierc, the university’s former director of health promotion and advocacy. Swierc argued the public university violated her constitutional free speech rights when it fired her in September over comments she made on her private social media account.
The dispute began after Kirk was assassinated during a Turning Point USA event in Utah. Swierc reacted online by describing his death as a “tragedy” while also criticizing his political influence.
In the post, she wrote that his death was a “reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed,” before adding: “If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends.”
Screenshots of the post quickly spread online. The backlash escalated. According to university president Geoffrey Mearns, the school received a flood of angry emails and phone calls, including threats of violence and warnings from donors who said they would stop contributing to the university.
University officials later confirmed the Facebook post was the sole reason for Swierc’s termination. The school argued her comments “caused a major public controversy” and “led to substantial disruption” across campus operations.
Civil liberties advocates pushed back sharply.
“The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this settlement reflects that,” ACLU attorney Stevie Pactor said in a statement.
Because Ball State is a public university, employees retain constitutional protections tied to speech on matters of public concern. The lawsuit centered on whether Swierc’s personal political comments were protected under the First Amendment despite public backlash.
The case adds to a growing list of legal settlements connected to social media posts about Kirk after his death.
Last week, officials in Florida agreed to pay a biologist $485,000 after she was fired for reposting an Instagram message claiming Kirk did not care about children being shot in classrooms. In another case, a Tennessee man who spent more than 30 days in jail over memes related to Kirk secured an $835,000 settlement.
The recent payouts have intensified debate around free speech, employer discipline, and the limits of public pressure campaigns targeting workers over online political expression.
