A former Auburn University lecturer filed a lawsuit against the school on Wednesday, accusing Auburn of firing her over a social media post about the death of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk.
Candice Hale, a former English professor, said the firing violated her free speech rights.
“Candice Hale exercised her right to speak on matters of public concern, the death of Charlie Kirk, a political figure — expression that lies at the core of the First Amendment — and was subsequently terminated for doing so,” the complaint said. “Such retaliation cuts to the heart of democratic principles, where open discourse and the free exchange of ideas are essential to the preservation of liberty and justice.”
Auburn University officials said in a statement Thursday they did not have a comment on the lawsuit.
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The lawsuit names as defendants Auburn University President Christopher Roberts; Chris Hardman, a behavioral threat assessment coordinator for the university; Clarence JC Stewart, assistant vice president of campus safety and compliance; Scott Forehand, the director of compliance, investigations and Security for Auburn University; Jason Hicks, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Tami Poe, a senior manager of human resources at Auburn.
On Sept. 11, Hale shared her thoughts about Kirk’s death on Facebook.
“I do not mourn oppressors. I do not show them empathy. I don’t give a damn about evil racist, fascist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, mediocre, white men who claim to be christian and then do everything Christ would not do on Earth,” the post said.
On Sept. 17, Roberts said in a statement posted to social media that multiple employees were fired for their social media posts. The school did not give a specific number.
Hale alleges in her complaint that the same day the statement was posted, she was notified by Hardman to coordinate a meeting with himself and Forehand.
According to the complaint, during the meeting, Hale was questioned by Hardman and Forehand about her online posting and was asked “how students who were in the University’s Turning Point USA chapter would feel about her comments.”
Turning Point USA is a non-profit organization founded by Kirk that advocates for right-wing policies on high school, college and university campuses.
Hale also alleges in the complaint that Hardman and Forehand asked how she would interact with white male students who had the same views as Kirk and if she had any weapons or intent to harm anyone who is a member of Auburn’s Turning Point USA chapter.
Hale told the two that she was unaware of the university’s Turning Point chapter and that she didn’t have any weapons.
According to the filing, Forehand and Harding did not signal that the meeting would go to the university’s human resources department and that they did not find that Hale was a threat to campus safety.
However, two days later on Sept. 19, Hale said Poe requested a meeting with her and Hicks.
Hale said in the complaint that she asked for the meeting to be postponed until she could secure counsel to represent her, to which Poe said no matter when the meeting was, Hale would be placed on administrative leave.
Hale alleges that on Sept. 23, Poe called her to say she was not allowed to have counsel present at the meeting.
The next day around 3 p.m., Hale had a virtual meeting with Poe and Hicks. According to the complaint, during the meeting Hicks told Hale the university wanted to end her employment and gave her a 21-day window to consider a severance agreement.
The complaint said Hale has not been allowed to return to work and has been banned from campus by Stewart.
Hale said in a Facebook post on Thursday that she was also fired by The University of Alabama shortly after her social media post about Kirk “without a formal investigation, hearing or opportunity to respond.”
A message seeking comment was left with The University of Alabama Thursday.
“Both institutions have tried to silence my voice. I reject these efforts. I remain steadfast in defending my right to speak truth to power and to challenge white supremacy, misogyny and injustice — especially within academic spaces,” Hale said in the post.
Read more at AlabamaReflector.com.