State slapped with federal lawsuit after firing biologist for Charlie Kirk post

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is supposed to protect endangered species, manage and regulate wildlife resources and habitats for the long-term well-being of both the species and the public. It is not supposed to go after one of their own biologists for reposting a whale joke in the wake of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk‘s public and disgusting execution.

But that’s exactly what happened to Brittney Brown, a seabird specialist stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, who was fired last month after she shared a snarky Instagram post about the irony of Kirk’s stance on the Second Amendment.

And now Brown is fighting back — with the ACLU of Florida and First Amendment lawyer Gary Edinger on her side — in federal court.

The offending post? A screenshot from another account about whales: “The whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as Charlie Kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all.”

Not exactly subtle. But also, not a threat. Kirk openly opposed gun control.

Still, the post went viral thanks to Libs of TikTok, which whipped up its followers to demand Brown’s firing. And — surprise, surprise — FWC leadership caved faster than Gov. Ron DeSantis can pick a fight with Disney. Brown was terminated the very next day, Sept. 15, after seven years with the commission.

In a statement, FWC declared it had “zero tolerance” for promoting “violence and hate” and claimed Brown’s post “made light of the assassination” of Kirk, who led Turning Point USA and was a frequent speaker on college campuses.

Read related: Marc Sarnoff rears his ugly head again in WSJ op-ed against academic freedom

But Brown and her lawyers say the opposite is true. She wasn’t celebrating violence; she was criticizing Kirk’s politics on gun control. That’s political speech, which the First Amendment protects — even if it offends.

The lawsuit points out that Brown posted while on vacation on a private Instagram account, not representing her employer. It names FWC Executive Director Roger Young and division director Melissa Tucker as defendants, accusing them of making her a political example instead of standing up for free speech.

And here’s the part that really smells fishy: this isn’t happening in a vacuum. DeSantis’ anti-woke regime, every state agency has gotten the message — play to the conservative base or risk being next on the chopping block. Universities have been purged, libraries sanitized, even Disney punished. Now, apparently, it’s biologists who study seabirds getting caught in the dragnet.

And it’s happening across the country, where dozens of teachers and staff at K-12 schools and universities who posted in the wake of Kirk’s death have been fired.

In South Carolina, former teacher aide Lauren Vaughn filed a federal lawsuit against the Spartanburg County School District, the board and the superintendent after she was allegedly fired over a post in which she shared Kirk’s own words at a Turning Point USA event. Those now-famous words that were also shared by Palmetto Bay Councilman Steve Cody, who refused to resign after the mayor, council members and the public chastised him. Kirk’s own words in 2023: “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”

Cody is hanging on. But Vaughn and Brown were fired.

Read related: Palmetto Bay councilman is asked to resign after ‘vile’ Charlie Kirk post

In Iowa, teacher Matthew Kargol is suing Oskaloosa Schools and its superintendent after he was allegedly fired for posting “1 Nazi down” in reference to Kirk’s fatal shooting, the lawsuit says. Granted, that’s far worse than what the bird lady posted. But it’s still free speech.

“Mr. Kargol’s comment was rhetorical hyperbole about a widely reported public event. It did not threaten any person, did not incite imminent unlawful action, and was not directed at any member of the school community,” the lawsuit says.

Michelle Bravo, a neurologist at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, said she resigned after her Charlie Kirk post. But she was definitely forced to after the school got barraged with complaints.

Florida Republicans love to rail against “cancel culture,” but here’s a state employee literally canceled for making fun of a conservative figure. This is a master class in double standard.

Which is why this FWC lawsuit feels like more than just one woman’s fight to get her job back. Brown could be the test case for how far Florida’s culture war politics will reach into the rank and file of state government. Will every scientist, librarian, teacher, or clerk have to look over their shoulder before posting anything on their personal social media?

Ladra can’t help but notice the irony: The same administration that loves to call this “the free state of Florida,” is all too happy to muzzle its own employees when they post something that doesn’t fit the script — and about a man who claimed to defend and stand for free speech.

And that could end up costing taxpayers a whole lot more than one salty Instagram repost.

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  Charlie Kirk, Ron DeSantis