LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A Lee County teacher has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school district's superintendent, claiming her First Amendment rights were violated when she was fired over Facebook posts about political figure Charlie Kirk.
The district will consider this during a hearing on Tuesday.
Brooke Wold, a teacher at Lemuel Teal Middle School, alleges Dr. Denise Carlin terminated her employment because of posts she made on her private Facebook account expressing her opinion about Kirk.
According to the lawsuit, Wold's posts were not threatening but represented her personal views about the political figure. The posts in question stated "I pray Charlie sees whatever God sees fit," and "Remember Charlie did say, some gun deaths are worth it."
Wold maintains her Facebook account is private and argues that her posts constituted protected speech under the First Amendment. The lawsuit seeks to challenge the school district's decision to terminate her employment based on her social media activity.
The case raises questions about the extent to which public employees' private social media posts can be grounds for disciplinary action by their employers.
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