Ball State University is now paying up after a private Facebook post turned into a public First Amendment fight.
Suzanne Swierc, Ball State’s former director of health promotion and advocacy, will receive $225,000 to settle her federal lawsuit against university president Geoffrey Mearns after she was fired over comments she made following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The ACLU of Indiana announced the settlement, saying Swierc’s post was protected because she was speaking as a private citizen about a public issue.
According to the original report, Swierc called Kirk’s death a “tragedy,” but also described it as a “reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed.” She also wrote, “If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends.”
That post was made on her private Facebook account, but once screenshots started circulating online, the backlash hit Ball State fast. The university said the post sparked a wave of calls and emails, including threats to pull donations and even threats of violence. Ball State cited the post as the sole reason for firing her, saying it created “substantial disruption” for the school.
The ACLU Says The First Amendment Still Applies
ACLU attorney Stevie Pactor said Swierc’s firing crossed a constitutional line.
“The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this settlement reflects that,” Pactor said.
That part matters because Ball State is a public university. Under First Amendment law, public employees can have protection when they speak as private citizens on matters of public concern, though courts also weigh whether that speech disrupted government operations. The Congressional Research Service’s Constitution Annotated notes that government employee speech cases often turn on that balance.
This Is Bigger Than One Facebook Post
Swierc’s case is not standing alone. The Associated Press reported that she was part of a larger wave of workers who faced discipline or firing after online posts about Kirk’s death. A Florida state agency recently agreed to pay $485,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former biologist who was fired over a Kirk-related Instagram repost.
Charlie Kirk was the founder and president of Turning Point USA, which describes itself as a student movement focused on organizing young people around free markets and limited government.
So now, Ball State gets to close the lawsuit, Swierc gets a six-figure settlement, and the bigger question stays loud: when a private post goes public, how far can a public employer go before discipline turns into retaliation?
Why don’t we come after Suzanne