Florida biologist fired for Charlie Kirk comment gets $485k settlement

Florida will pay nearly half a million dollars to a biologist to settle a free speech lawsuit after she was fired from her state job for a social media post criticizing Charlie Kirk after he was killed. Brittany Brown, who worked for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, filed the lawsuit after being fired in September 2025, just days after Kirk was slain while speaking at a Utah college. In a settlement agreement signed May 21, Brown will receive $485,000, which includes $235,000 for the loss of her job and $40,000 in backpay, along with $210,000 to cover attorney fees and costs. Brown's post, which was reposted to her private Instagram story, read, "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." The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said her post "made light" of Kirk's killing, citing a zero-tolerance policy towards the promotion of violence and hate. Brown's claim was the first known lawsuit in Florida over a state worker facing disciplinary action for an online response to Kirk's killing. The settlement includes an agreement that Brown will not apply for or seek reinstatement to the FWC in the future. Attorney Gary Edinger stated that the case resulted from Brown's "refusal to accept that the government gets to decide which opinions its employees are allowed to hold." This case is part of a broader trend of firings and subsequent settlements for employees who posted about Kirk's death, including a former Tennessee police officer who reached an $835,000 settlement and an Austin Peay State University theater professor who settled for $500,000.

(Source：Usa Today)