Ball State Settles Swierc First Amendment Suit for $225,000
The settlement ends a First Amendment lawsuit over Swierc’s firing and requires Ball State to provide references and acknowledge her prior work.
- Ball State University will pay former health director Suzanne Swierc $225,000 to settle a First Amendment lawsuit announced Tuesday, with the ACLU-filed case fully executed late last week against Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns.
- After conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed September 10, 2025, Swierc posted a Facebook message to over 1,000 people calling his death 'a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed'; within 28 hours it reached X and was reposted more than 9,000 times.
- Swierc wrote, 'If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can't be friends,' prompting Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns to cite over 130 emails within five days; ACLU attorney Stevie Pactor countered the First Amendment protects 'private citizens on matters of public concern' from retaliation.
- Under the settlement, Ball State must allow employees to serve as Swierc's references and acknowledge her prior contributions to health promotion work; the university avoided admitting wrongdoing, with Mearns stating the payment cost less than defending the lawsuit.
- Multiple institutions have faced six-figure settlements over Kirk-related terminations: a Florida state agency paid $485,000 to a biologist fired for a meme, and Austin Peay State University in Tennessee paid $500,000 to a professor fired for a 2023 headline citing a 1968 Supreme Court precedent.
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BreitbartBall State U. Staffer Wins $225,000 Settlement After Being Fired for Defending Assassination of Charlie Kirk
A woman who was fired by Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana after she caused 'significant disruption' to the school with a social media post about slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk is reportedly set to receive $225,000 in a legal settlement.
Anti-Charlie Kirk fanatic handed whopping 6-figure payday – The...
A woman fired by an Indiana university over her Facebook post criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was killed will receive $225,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused her former employer of violating her free-speech rights, the woman’s attorneys said Tuesday. The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement in a federal lawsuit it filed last year on behalf of Suzanne Swierc against Ball State University President Geof…
University to pay fired employee $225K over Charlie Kirk Facebook post
Ball State University will pay $225,000 to a former employee who was terminated after posting comments on Facebook about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, the Guardian reports.
Indiana's Ball State University To Pay Woman $225,000 For Firing Her Over Facebook Post Dissing Charlie Kirk
The Hill reports: A university in Indiana will pay a former employee $225,000 to settle a lawsuit after she was fired over a social media post criticizing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk after he was killed last year. Ball State University agreed to pay Suzanne Swierc, the university’s former director of health promotion and advocacy, after she filed a federal lawsuit alleging the school violated her constitutional rights when it fired her…
Ball State settles lawsuit against former employee over Charlie Kirk post
MUNCIE — A former Ball State University employee terminated for controversial comments she made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk reached a $225,000 settlement in her First Amendment lawsuit, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
Woman fired by university over Charlie Kirk post settles lawsuit for $225K
A university in Indiana will pay a former employee $225,000 to settle a lawsuit after she was fired over a social media post criticizing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk after he was killed last year. Ball State University agreed to pay Suzanne Swierc, the university’s former director of health promotion and advocacy, after she filed a…
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