‘Essence Of Our Democracy’: Teachers Union Fights For Right To Mock Charlie Kirk’s Death

The Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) sued the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on Tuesday for allegedly targeting over 350 teachers and school employees over their public comments on Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

TEA commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter to Texas school superintendents on Sept. 12, two days after Kirk’s murder at a Utah Valley University speaking event, warning them that educators caught posting “vile content” on social media about it would be investigated for violating the state’s educator ethics code. The teachers union lawsuit claims Morath’s letter “unleashed a wave of retaliation and disciplinary actions against teachers” and chilled their 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,” Texas AFT President Zeph Capo said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “They decided scoring a few cheap points was worth the unfair discipline, the doxxing, and the death threats targeted at Texas teachers. Meanwhile, educators and their families are afraid that they’ll lose everything: their livelihoods, their reputations, and their very purpose for being, which is to impart critical thinking.”

One teacher cited in the lawsuit claims to have been fired after suggesting “karma played a role” in Kirk’s death, though the union insisted the post did not “result in any disruption to school operations.” The teacher later settled a wrongful termination claim with the district.

Another teacher, who remains employed, was allegedly referred to TEA for disciplinary investigation after writing “multiple posts on his private Facebook page criticizing Mr. Kirk for his statements against Black Americans and noting the public’s lack of outrage for other acts of violence.” The principal of the school allegedly told the teacher he did not believe the teacher “had done anything wrong.” The case remains active.