An aerial photo of Ball State University’s campus. Photo from Ball State University.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — A Ball State University employee who lost her job after she posted about the late Charlie Kirk will use Indiana’s courts to litigate the case. Suzanne Swierc’s firing and other retaliatory actions — against educators, media columnists, comedians and more — have alarmed free speech advocates in the wake of Kirk’s targeted assassination.

Kirk, a conservative activist with personal ties to Pres. Donald Trump and other top Republican leaders, was shot at a Utah Valley University event on Wednesday, Sept. 10 and died soon after. A defender of both free speech and the Second Amendment, Kirk was infamous for his inflammatory rhetoric.

“Let me be clear: if you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends. His death is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for his wife and children,” Swierc posted that day, according to a screenshot included in her legal complaint. “I believe in the Resurrection, and while it’s difficult, I can and do pray for his soul. Charlie Kirk’s death is a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed. It does not excuse his death, AND it’s a sad truth. The shooting is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for a college campus experiencing an active shooter situation.

“The deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman, the children shot and killed in Minneapolis last month, and the children shot in Colorado today are all tragedies that also deserve your attention. Charlie Kirk excused the deaths of children in the name of the second amendment,” Swierc’s post finished.

Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were targeted for her role as a Democrat in that state’s legislature. Two children were shot at a Minnesota Catholic school in August. Two students were hospitalized in a Colorado shooting and another student, the shooter, died the same day as Kirk.

In the filing, Sweirc said she’d restricted her Facebook privacy settings to “close friends” prior to making the post, but it was screenshotted and shared publicly. It went viral in conservative circles.

“I do not regret the post I made and I would not take back what I said. I believe that I, along with every other person in this country, have First Amendment rights to be able to speak on a number of things,” Swierc said in a virtual press conference Monday.

Swierc said she’d shared one death threat — which included her full address — to local law enforcement. Swierc worked as the director of health promotion and advocacy under Ball State’s student affairs division.

Additional Fallout

Swierc will be represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. The organization argued that Sweirc didn’t forfeit her rights when Ball State — a public university — hired her in 2023.

“Government employees don’t give up their First Amendment rights just to become employees of the government,” said Stevie Pactor, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU. “They, still, are entitled to their own personal opinions that they are free to express online or in other forums, so long as those are being made in their personal capacity.”

Stevie Pactor, a senior attorney with the ACLU of Indiana, speaks in a Zoom press conference on Monday, Sept. 22. Screenshot of press conference.

Ball State declined to comment on pending litigation on Monday, but previously defended Swierc’s firing in a public statement.

The ACLU is seeking an injunction that would expunge any record of the termination from Ball State’s archives, alongside damages. Swierc isn’t looking to go back to the university.

Pactor noted that Sweirc didn’t cause the post to go viral and said others could be caught up in the same cycle.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, in a Sept. 17 story, cataloged more than two-dozen disciplinary actions against faculty, staff and students nationwide for posts related to Kirk — including firings, suspensions and expulsions. The count doesn’t include Ball State.

At least one state employee, with the Department of Child Services, resigned after posting about Kirk.

In perhaps the most high-profile example, comedian Jimmy Kimmel was briefly suspended from his show following comments about Kirk’s death before being reinstated on Monday.

Conservative Backlash

Prominent Republicans have sought to punish those who “celebrated” the assassination. In Indiana, Gov. Mike Braun has threatened teaching licenses, arguing that “calls for political violence are not freedom of speech and should not be tolerated.”

Attorney General Todd Rokita has dedicated a section of his “Eyes on Education” portal to posts about Kirk, posting cases — including Sweirc’s — online. There were 19 flagged posts as of Monday, Sept. 22, with potentially “hundreds” more being submitted. He has emphasized that his office isn’t investigating anyone listed in the portal, but is posting them for parental “transparency.”

“Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our Republic, but it does not shield individuals from the consequences of their words, especially when they are public servants who are getting paid with taxpayer dollars,” Rokita said. “Statements that celebrate or glorify violence are deeply concerning, particularly when made by those entrusted with shaping young minds.”

He shared a modified version of Sweirc’s post to his social media account, and included her Ball State biography.

First Amendment cases also include protections from a so-called “heckler’s veto,” in which speech is silenced because of disruptive reactions — or anticipated responses — from an audience.