A Florida biologist has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit after she was fired for an Instagram post about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Brittney Brown was let go on September 15 after a TikTok account outed her for reposting a social media comment about the conservative star’s murder, according to the lawsuit viewed by the Daily Mail.
Five days earlier, on the same day as Kirk’s death, Brown shared a statement about the assassination from the account @awhalefact, which the lawsuit describes as ‘a parody/satirical account that pretends to speak on behalf of a whale.’
The post said: ‘The whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as Charlie Kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all.’
On September 14, the Libs of TikTok account shared a screenshot of Brown’s post next to a screenshot of her LinkedIn profile and suggested she be fired from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the court document showed.
Hours later, FWC said it was aware of Brown’s activity and ‘did not condone nor tolerate this type of hateful sentiment.’
‘We’re actively working towards a swift and immediate resolution regarding this individual’s employment,’ the company’s post on X read.
Biologist Brittney Brown was fired from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission over a post about Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event on the campus of Utah Valley University on September 10
The next day, Brown said that she was called into the office and told to choose between resignation and termination, according to the lawsuit.
After asking to speak with an attorney, Brown said the Regional Director of the FWC came to her house and delivered a termination letter.
Her lawsuit argues that FWC executive director Roger Young made the decision to fire her after consulting with senior officials in the Governor Ron DeSantis administration, and her boss, Melissa Tucker, carried out the termination.
Shortly after she received the letter, the lawsuit stated that Libs of TikTok posted that Brown had been fired.
FWC put out the following statement: ‘This weekend, we were made aware of a deeply troubling incident involving an FWC employee who shared a social media post that made light of the assassination of Mr Kirk.
‘The comments and actions of this individual are not in line with the FWC, our values, or our mission. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards the promotion of violence and hate, and we will not stand for such behavior.
‘Upon learning of the social media post, FWC leadership took swift action, terminating the individual. We expect all our employees to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and always keep the public’s trust in mind.’
Brown’s lawsuit argues that her First Amendment rights were violated because she posted on a private account and was on vacation and out of state at the time she posted.
Libs of TikTok outed Brown on X, sharing a screenshot of a repost the biologist made from the account @awhalefact
FWC claimed that have a ‘zero-tolerance policy towards promotion of violence and hate,’ but Brown’s lawyers argue she was not doing either of those things
‘[Brown’s] political statement does not condone Mr Kirk’s killing; nor does it call for further violence. The post did not threaten anyone but merely stated a political opinion about a political figure,’ the court filing said.
‘The repost was not shared during work hours and did not involve any state property, money, or resources. Instead, the repost was shared from Brown’s personal phone while she was on vacation out of state.’
Her lawsuit seeks to have her reinstated as a biologist with FWC, where she had worked for around seven years, and asks for her to be paid damages in an amount to be determined at trial.
On Monday, her lawyers asked US District Judge Mark Walker to reinstate her immediately while the lawsuit is under way, reported FOX 13.
Brown’s attorney Gary Edinger said: ‘It’s a political statement on a matter that everyone in America is still talking about. You can’t invoke that bogeyman as a cover for content-based, viewpoint-based discrimination.’
Lawyers representing the state and FWC defended their decision to fire Brown.
‘The First Amendment does not shield public employees from the consequences of speech that undermines the effectiveness, credibility or public trust on which their agencies depend,’ the attorney said.
‘FWC’s interest in maintaining credibility and neutrality far outweighs any minimal expressive value.’
Brown’s lawsuit claims her First Amendment rights were violated and she is seeking to be reinstated to her role
The judge did not rule on the reinstatement but said during the hearing: ‘You don’t get to fire somebody just because the public is yapping at you.’
Walker also added: ‘Workers don’t have an absolute right to employment.’
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Edinger said: ‘We were taking a chance on a preliminary injunction (which is considered truly extraordinary relief) in the hope of getting Ms Brown back to work immediately.’
He added: ‘The judge may defer or deny injunctive relief until the factual record is better developed.
‘Fortunately, we are on an extremely fast-tracked discovery and summary judgment schedule. So even if the preliminary injunction sought on Monday is denied, we can expect a favorable final decision early next year.’
Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 22, who has been charged with his murder, is expected to appear in court in January.
The Daily Mail contacted FWC and their lawyers for comment.
