""Just over one month ago, individuals in the highest circles of the federal government decided to target me when I and countless others criticized someone I viewed as a bigoted person," Souders said in a statement shared with Business Insider. "It was and is my right to do so. The First Amendment was designed to protect individuals from the overreach of a would-be totalitarian government.""
"A former Coast Guard contractor is suing the federal government, alleging senior Homeland Security and military officials orchestrated his firing after seeing Facebook posts he made after the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by Peter Souders, who was an engineer and project manager for Advanced Concepts Enterprises, Inc. is one of the first legal tests of the Trump administration's crackdown on speech in the wake of Kirk's assassination."
Peter Souders, a former Coast Guard contractor and engineer, filed a federal lawsuit alleging senior Homeland Security and Pentagon officials orchestrated his termination after viewing his Facebook posts following the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Souders claims the posts constituted protected political speech and that the firing amounted to retaliation that violated his First Amendment rights. The complaint cites a September 17 email chain in which Pentagon and DHS staff discussed "inappropriate behavior" and confirmed Souders' last day, triggering an immediate offboarding and termination process at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Read at Business Insider
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