The Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers union sued state education officials in federal court on Tuesday, alleging that the decision to scrutinize and investigate hundreds of educators for their comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September violated free speech rights.
“Somewhere and somehow, our state’s leaders lost their way. A few well-placed Texas politicians and bureaucrats think it is good for their careers to trample on educators' free speech rights,” Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT, said in a statement. “They decided scoring a few cheap points was worth the unfair discipline, the doxxing, and the death threats targeted at Texas teachers.”
More than 350 educators faced investigations over their alleged comments about Kirk after his death, according to the suit, which names the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath.
“These teachers were disciplined solely for their speech, without any regard to whether the posts disrupted school operations in any way,” the lawsuit claims. “In many cases, Texas AFT members made their posts on online profiles or pages that are ‘private,’ and can be viewed only by individuals who have been specifically approved by the account owner.”
The complaint points to a September 12 letter from Morath, in which he allegedly said he would refer “vile” posts about Kirk to the education agency’s investigations arm and called on superintendents to do the same.
“While the exercise of free speech is a fundamental right we are all blessed to share, it does not give carte blanche authority to celebrate or sow violence against those that share differing beliefs and perspectives,” the letter reads.
The Independent has contacted the TEA for comment.
Educators in at least 16 states were fired, suspended, or reprimanded for their social media comments about Kirk, according to EducationWeek.
Critics faced intense political pressure after Kirk’s shock killing during a September campus forum event in Utah.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called to prosecute anyone making “hate speech” about Kirk’s death, a category largely protected under First Amendment law unless it is tied to the direct incitement of violence. She went so far as to suggest a private business could be prosecuted for refusing to print Kirk-related fliers, despite recent Supreme Court rulings that businesses can refuse customers for First Amendment-related reasons like religion.
Bondi later walked back her comments.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, meanwhile, was briefly taken off the air after his critical comments about the political dynamics following Kirk’s death provoked the ire of FCC head Brendan Carr.
