Ball State pays ex-employee $225K over Charlie Kirk post

MUNCIE, Ind. — A former Ball State University employee is being paid $225,000 after the ACLU of Indiana reached a settlement in its First Amendment lawsuit against the institutions president, Geoffrey Mearns.

“Suzanne was speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern when Ball State fired her over a private social media post,” said Stevie Pactor, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Indiana.

“The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this settlement reflects that.”

The suit was on behalf of Suzanne Swierc who was the director of health promotion and advocacy. Swierc was fired after making a private Facebook post about the death of Charlie Kirk. An individual took a screenshot of the post and it began to circulate publicly.

A few days after the comment was posted she was terminated effective immediately by Mearns who cited the post as the reason she was fired.

https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/ball-state-pays-ex-employee-225k-over-charlie-kirk-post/

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Good news!
But, she should have received more than $225k, IMHO.