FLORIDA – A Clay County teacher who was suspended in September over comments they made about Charlie Kirk following his assassination has filed a lawsuit against Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, according to federal court dockets.
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The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, argues that the teacher’s First Amendment rights were violated, and that an administrative complaint filed by Kamoutsas constituted “governmental retaliation for protected speech.”
The full administrative complaint can be read below
“The threatened revocation of Plaintiff’s Florida Educator’s Certificate, which would deprive [them] of the right to practice [their] chosen profession in [their] state of residence and substantially curtail [their] livelihood, would tend to deter a person of ordinary firmness from exercising protected speech,” the lawsuit reads.
The full lawsuit filed by the Clay County teacher can be read below
It also goes on to state that the teacher is seeking a “declaration” that the threatened action against her violated her First Amendment rights, along with an award for damages.
The situation began after Kirk’s fatal shooting on Sept. 10 at a college campus in Utah when the teacher created a social media post that referenced the conservative activist’s death.
The post included a link to a story from the St. Augustine Record saying that Kirk had been killed, and included the caption (which was left unedited by News4JAX): “This may not be the obituary. We were all hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me.”
The following day, the Florida education commissioner used the teacher as an example of educators who will be fully investigated for social media comments that “encourage violence.”
“Let me be clear. This is completely unacceptable, and it will not be tolerated as these posts continue to circulate,” Kamoutsas said.
At the time, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said it is not involved in the matter, but a spokesperson for Clay County District Schools said to News4JAX that the district is aware of the state’s investigation and “our Human Resources Department is fully cooperating with the Office of Professional Practices Services.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the teacher was put on administrative leave “pending school board action.”
In the wake of Kirk’s death, educators have come under particular scrutiny for online comments. Some apparently joking about the conservative activist’s death faced backlash and firings for what was deemed “hate speech.”
In September, News4JAX stopped by the teacher’s home seeking comment. A man at the home referred us to her attorney, but did not name the attorney representing her at the time.
News4JAX has attempted to contact the attorney, and will update this story when we receive a response from them.