Strange legal maneuverings taking place with lawsuit filed by a biologist in Florida

who criticized/mocked Charlie Kirk. Can't say I understand it all. Free Speech should have sailed this one through.

Judge won't reinstate ex-FWC biologist fired after Charlie Kirk post

A federal judge decided an ex-biologist for the state of Florida's wildlife agency can't get her job back before her lawsuit against her former bosses are over.

Brittney Brown, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist, was fired after she reposted an Instagram joke about whales reacting to the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

In a Nov. 13 order, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee ruled she "spoke" as a private citizen despite her government job, and therefore her repost on Instagram was protected speech.

But Walker said he couldn't grant her request for her job back prior to the lawsuit's conclusion, because he needed more evidence to show whether the public's negative reaction to her speech was disruptive enough.

Reinstating her job would be "extraordinary affirmative relief," Walker wrote. He agreed that her speech was protected and that her speech was a big reason she was fired, but he noted that Brown chose not to fast-track the case or take a pre-trial deposition of her supervisor.



https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/11/14/judge-declines-to-reinstate-ex-fwc-biologist-fired-after-kirk-post/87276251007/