Biologist was fired by a state agency for criticizing Charlie Kirk on social media after his shooting death
Attorney Carrie McNamara of the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Florida called Brown’s settlement deal “a hard-won vindication” that sends a message to the state’s officials that they cannot punish speech they dislike.
“The first amendment does not disappear when someone accepts a government job,” McNamara said, alluding to the part of the US constitution which grants the right to free speech.
Brown’s former supervisor at the agency, habitat and species conservation director Melissa Tucker, had claimed that Brown’s post generated hundreds of formal complaints and caused significant disruption. Discovery in the case later revealed that the agency only received about 50 complaints.
US district judge Mark Walker imposed sanctions against Tucker recently for exaggerating the amount and then not correcting the record.
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