Woman fired by Indiana university over Charlie Kirk post to receive $225K legal settlement

Suzanne Swierc, a Ball State University health promotion and advocacy director, was fired after a private Facebook post criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Ball State said the post caused significant disruption and was the sole reason for termination. A federal lawsuit alleged the firing violated her constitutional free-speech rights. The settlement announced by the ACLU provides $225,000 to Swierc. The claim was that she spoke as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, and government institutions cannot retaliate in those circumstances. Ball State’s president defended the decision, citing threats to enrollment and fundraising, and said the settlement payment was modest compared with litigation costs.

"Swierc worked as director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State's campus in Muncie, Indiana, before she was fired last September. Ball State cited Swierc's private Facebook post about Kirk as the sole reason for her termination, saying it caused "significant disruption" to the campus."

"Swierc's firing violated her constitutional rights because she was "speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern," said Stevie Pactor, an ACLU attorney in Indiana. "The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this settlement reflects that," Pactor said in a statement."

"Mearns defended firing Swierc in a statement sent Tuesday to campus leaders, which a Ball State spokesperson shared with The Associated Press. Mearns said backlash over Swierc's post threatened to harm the school's student enrollment and fundraising. He said the settlement's "modest monetary payment" to Swierc was substantially less than fighting her lawsuit would have cost."

"The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement in a federal lawsuit it filed last year on behalf of Suzanne Swierc against Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns. The woman's attorneys said Tuesday she will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused her former employer of violating her free-speech rights."

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