From Thompson v. Central Valley School Dist. No. 365, decided a month ago by Chief Judge Stanley Bastian (E.D. Wash.) (now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit):
"[W]e … live in a time when a careless comment can ruin reputations and crater careers that have been built over a lifetime because of the demand for swift justice, especially on social media. For private employers, it is their prerogative to take action against an intemperate tweet or a foolish Facebook comment. But when the government is the employer, it must abide by the First Amendment." Moser v. Las Vegas Metro Police Dep't (9th Cir. 2021).
[From 1991 to] August 2020, Plaintiff was an assistant principal at Evergreen Middle School …. After watching the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Plaintiff posted his thoughts about the convention on Facebook.
There is some controversy about the text of the post; I include what the defendant claims he posted (which is what's relevant at this procedural stage of the case), but add in brackets some extra material or different material that plaintiff reports:
