Georgia teacher wins settlement over Charlie Kirk assassination comments

Former Georgia teacher Michelle Mickens settled her lawsuit with the Oglethorpe County School District on Wednesday after claiming she was unfairly punished over quotes related to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk after his assassination.

In October, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mickens after she was placed on indefinite leave and reportedly encouraged to resign for making controversial comments about Kirk’s assassination on her private Facebook page in September.

“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.- Charlie Kirk,” her initial post read.

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Mickens later took part in a discussion with a Facebook friend who disagreed with her post, where she condemned political violence but added that the world was “safer” without Kirk.

“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 wrote.

Her post continued, “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.”

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After a former classmate shared the post across X, Mickens was called to the office to address a complaint regarding her comments. Mickens claimed that while the principal and superintendent initially suggested she delete the post and issue an apology, she was later asked to remain home with access to her school emails revoked.

According to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mickens received approximately $270,420 for “alleged emotional distress” as well as $17,080 to cover legal fees. Mickens also agreed to not seek employment at the district again.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Oglethorpe County School District superintendent and SPLC for comment.

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In a press release after the settlement, SPLC senior supervising attorney Sam Boyd said, “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.’”

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In the immediate days following Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University, several teachers faced suspension and even termination for social media comments that justified or celebrated Kirk’s death.

Since then, some teachers have been reinstated following controversial statements or lawsuits.