GAINESVILLE, Fla. – One Florida teacher is suspended, and at least three more are under investigation for comments they made about Charlie Kirk after his murder – not in the classroom, but on their personal social media accounts.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is threatening to sanction public school teachers and staff who made posts critical of the conservative 31-year-old political activist in the days following his murder earlier this week in Utah. The governor there announced Friday the arrest of Tyler Robinson, 22, and said he was believed to have acted alone.
In Florida, the education commissioner, Anastasios Kamoutsas, earlier this week cited broad regulations that require teachers to distinguish their personal views from those of the schools where they work, and prohibit harassing conduct that could unreasonably interfere with teaching or create an intimidating or oppressive classroom environment.
“Although educators have First Amendment rights, these rights do not extend without limit into their professional duties,” Kamoutsas wrote. “Personal views that are made public may undermine the trust of the students and families they serve.”
DeSantis amplified Kamoutsas’ message on social media, praising him for “bringing accountability. It is sad that we’ve seen a number of teachers across America celebrate Charlie Kirk’s murder.”
The move extends the governor’s focus on imposing limits across Florida on what teachers can say, how they teach and what subjects are acceptable to discuss with students. Concerned about “indoctrination” in the classroom, DeSantis has championed policies that bar teachers from talking about critical race theory, sexual orientation and using students’ preferred names.
Leaders of the Florida Education Association, a union representing more than 120,000 educators, posted a statement after thousands social media posts and comments about teachers who’ve posted about Kirk.
“The union is here to support the rights of every educator across the state,” they wrote Thursday. “Allowing threats and threatening those in our public school communities is counterproductive.”
A prominent First Amendment expert, Clay Calvert, said disciplinary actions against teachers outside the classroom discussing such a high-profile matter of public interest as Kirk’s death could set up legal battles – depending on exactly what the teachers wrote and whether there were consequences inside their classrooms.
Public school teachers who make comments on their personal social media accounts are allowed to personally post about matters of national concern, like Kirk’s death, with some caveats, Calvert said.
They could legally be fired or disciplined if they “can no longer efficiently and effectively teach students, if they feel uncomfortable in that classroom because of remarks that the teacher has said online,” he said.
Calvert said administrators have a lawful interest in making sure the educational atmosphere is not disrupted in the classroom.
In Clay County, a largely Republican county south of Jacksonville, teacher Kelly Brock-Sanchez was suspended over Facebook posts, according to state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island.
According to screenshots from Brock-Sanchez’s now-private account, she wrote “this may not be the obituary we were hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me,” and called Kirk “one less evil person on this planet.”
Bradley said Thursday that she contacted Clay County Superintendent David Broskie about what the teacher wrote. The senator said the teacher was suspended, although the school district said the situation was under review.
A former educator in Clay County said she finds it disturbing that people were celebrating Kirk’s death – but doesn’t think that they should be fired for sharing controversial opinions. Kirk himself tweeted last year that even what he described as ugly, gross and evil speech was protected by the First Amendment.
“To honor Charlie’s life, we need to remember that the First Amendment protects free speech, including speech we disagree with,” former substitute teacher Jackie Huntley said in an interview. “Teachers are free to post their opinions, but schools are also free to decide if those opinions reflect the standards we expect from educators.”
In Lee County, another mostly Republican county along Florida’s southwest coast, school district officials said they were reviewing social media posts from three more teachers. On one the Facebook page for the school district, hundreds called for the firings of Lauren Boliek, Mariah Roller and Brooke Wold.
Roller wrote “Bye, Charlie” on Facebook while acknowledging Kirk’s oft-repeated statement that some gun deaths were worth the preservation of Americans’ Second Amendment rights, according to a screen shot circulating of her post.
Wold similarly noted Kirk’s statement about some gun deaths being necessary and added, “I pray Charlie receives whatever God sees fit.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what Boliek wrote online that drew such condemnation.
Roller said she was advised by her lawyer not to comment. Boliek and Wold did not respond to calls and texts asking to talk about the issue.
Educators aren’t the only people facing criticism for comments online. City leaders on opposite ends of Florida also saw backlash.
Leofric Thomas Jr., the data and policy manager for the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, wrote on social media: “When you spew hate, it’s what you get back.” He added, “Charlie spewed nothing but hate, so what he got back was, yeah.”
Florida’s chief financial officer, Blaise Ingoglia, and Jacksonville City Councilor Rory Diamond urged the city to remove Thomas from his job.
“Don’t delay. Do it NOW because if you don’t, we will assume you all agree with the message,” Ingoglia wrote.
In the village of Palmetto Bay, just south of Miami, City Councilman Steve Cody apologized for a post he wrote about Kirk: “Charlie Kirk is a fitting sacrifice to our Lords: Smith & Wesson. Hallowed be their names.” Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, and the town’s mayor urged Cody to resign from office.
Employees of private companies or even private schools generally have weaker First Amendment protections against being fired or punished for what they say or write.
In South Florida, the leader of private school Miami Country Day School quit after an Instagram comment about Kirk circulated around social media. Glen Turf, who started at the school in 2001, wrote that the situation was “karma” - writing, “he died. Oh well.”
“This decision follows an exchange he engaged in on social media that does not align with our values,” the school said in a statement.
Two journalists also faced blowback. A prolific political reporter for the website Florida Politics, A.G. Gancarski, was suspended indefinitely Wednesday after asking Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., about his earlier efforts as a state senator to allow openly carrying guns on college campuses so soon after Kirk was fatally shot on a college campus.
Gancarski’s boss, Peter Schorsch, said it was too soon to explore the political issues around Kirk’s death. Schorsch said Friday he expects Gancarski to return to reporting for the website next week.
“Perhaps other outlets can go immediately to the political ramifications of a tragedy like the shooting of a cultural leader, but that is not what I am about,” Schorsch said.
Gancarski did not immediately respond to a text message asking to discuss the incident.
Separately, MSNBC fired political commentator Matthew Dowd.
“Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said. “And I think that’s the environment we’re in.”
MSNBC condemned the statement, saying it was “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.” Dowd apologized and said he didn’t intend to blame Kirk for the shooting.
Democrat leaders, from California governor Gavin Newsom to former president Barack Obama, condemned political violence on social media hours after Kirk’s murder. Not every Republican leader afforded the same grace after recent violence against Democrats.
Republicans and Democrats alike condemned Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, after making light of the killing of Minnesota Sen. Melissa Hortman in June. He wrote, then later deleted, on social media: “this is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.” Lee later apologized.
In 2022, when a man broke into former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s house, planning to kidnap her and attacking her husband Paul Pelosi, Fox News hosts Rachel Campos-Duffy and Pete Hegseth – now the Secretary of War in Trump’s Cabinet – laughed about the attack on the air. Paul Pelosi was seriously injured in the attack.
“Maybe Paul Pelosi needs the hammer, not the medal,” Campos-Duffy said after a discussion about whether President Joe Biden would give Pelosi the Presidential Media of Freedom. She and Hegseth chuckled before moving on to their next segment.
Donald Trump Jr. also made light of the attack. He shared a photo of underwear and a hammer captioned, “Got my Paul Pelosi halloween costume ready,” in late October 2022.
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at michael.orlando@freshtakeflorida.com. You can donate to support our students here.