Michelle Mickens, a former teacher from Georgia, has settled her lawsuit with the Oglethorpe County School District. Her case revolved around allegations of unjust punishment due to her comments on Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, after his assassination.
In October, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mickens. She was placed on indefinite leave and was reportedly pressured to resign following comments she made on Facebook in September. Her post quoted Kirk as saying, “I think it’s worth it. 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.”
Her comments led to significant controversy. She expressed in a discussion that the world might be ‘safer’ without Kirk while condemning political violence. Her statement on Facebook read, “Yeah, you took this way too far. You make a lot of horrible assumptions here, but that says more about you than it does about me. I don’t condone violence of any kind, and I certainly don’t condone this, but he was a horrible person, a fascist full of hate for anyone who was different.” Mickens added, “While I’m sad that we live in a country where gun violence is an epidemic, the world is a bit safer without him. I didn’t respect him at all, and he’s part of the hatred and vitriolic language we hear so much now. I pray that without him, people can be kinder and more tolerant to one another.”
Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. Following this event, Mickens came under scrutiny after a former classmate circulated her post. Mickens reported being advised by the school administration to delete her post and apologize. Later, she was asked to stay home, and her access to school emails was revoked.
According to records from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mickens was compensated approximately $270,420 for emotional distress and $17,080 for legal expenses. She also agreed not to pursue employment with the district again. In response to the settlement, SPLC senior attorney Sam Boyd commented, “We are pleased to reach a mutually amicable settlement of this matter. As courts across the country have recognized in other cases involving firings over comments about Charlie Kirk, and many other topics, ‘public school employees, including teachers, have a constitutionally protected right to free speech.’”
SPLC and the Oglethorpe County School District superintendent were contacted by Fox News Digital for comments.
In the wake of Kirk’s assassination, multiple teachers were suspended or fired for social media comments regarding his death. Several have since been reinstated, either through legal processes or negotiations.