VICTORY: Federal court rejects bid to dismiss lawsuit from state employee fired for criticizing Charlie Kirk

NASHVILLE, Sept. 21, 2026 — A Tennessee public servant’s lawsuit challenging her unlawful firing for protected speech cleared a key hurdle today when a district court denied the state’s motion to dismiss and allowed the case to proceed.

U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger held that lifelong public servant Monica Meeks can continue with the lawsuit she filed after Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Carter Lawrence fired her for nothing more than a Facebook comment criticizing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

“Today’s ruling affirms that Americans who serve the public retain their First Amendment rights and get their day in court if they’re punished for their speech,” said Greg Greubel, senior attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is representing Monica. “We look forward to continuing to fight for Monica’s right to hold an opinion and a job.”

After serving 20 years in the military, Monica took a job at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance in 2016. In September 2025, after one of her former “battle buddies” posted about the Kirk assassination, Monica responded, “The way you tap dance for White Supremacist should be studied!”

Monica made the comment on her personal Facebook account, which did not mention her workplace and included a disclaimer that the viewpoint was her own. But after an X account shared a screenshot, Lawrence terminated her employment, calling the comment “inflammatory and insulting.” Represented by FIRE and local counsel Melody Fowler-Green of Yezbak Law Offices, Monica filed suit in December, arguing that her firing violated her First Amendment rights.

“I had years of spotless service and great performance reviews, yet they fired me because a few people on the Internet didn’t like what I had to say,” said Monica. “But I have a right to speak my mind, on my own time and on my own account.”

COURTESY PHOTOS OF MONICA FOR MEDIA

Monica’s firing violated longstanding Supreme Court precedent that created a three-prong test for determining when public employees’ First Amendment protections take precedence over their government employer’s interests. First, the employee must be speaking as a private citizen. Second, his or her speech must be on a topic of public concern. And third, the employee’s interest in exercising his or her right to free expression must outweigh the state’s interest in ensuring effective government operations.

In its motion to dismiss, Tennessee did not dispute that Monica’s comment was made as a private citizen, nor that it was about a topic of public concern. Instead, it argued that Monica’s speech might have interfered with the department’s operations by offending those who agreed with Kirk’s politics.

The court declined to reach the merits of that argument. 

“Without the benefit of a developed factual record, the court cannot adequately evaluate . . . whether Meeks’ single comment, made using her private Facebook account, ‘destroyed any perception’ among the public that she would perform her official duties professionally and with objectivity,” wrote Judge Trauger. “For that reason, the court declines to dismiss this action based on any purported state interest and whether that interest outweighs Meeks’ First Amendment rights.” 

Now, the case proceeds to discovery on the merits of Monica’s claim.

Monica is just one of hundreds of Americans who were censored or targeted by a mob for protected speech made in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. That mass cancellation campaign in turn sparked First Amendment lawsuits across the country. As of the one-year anniversary of the Kirk shooting earlier this month, FIRE has tracked 46 lawsuits filed in federal court by state employees who were punished for voicing opinions on Kirk or the shooting, 16 of which have already been settled.

Elsewhere in Tennessee, FIRE also represented Larry Bushart, a retired police officer who was jailed for over a month for sharing a meme that quoted President Donald Trump on a Kirk memorial thread. That case settled in May 2026 for a sum of $835,000.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them. 

CONTACT:

Alex Griswold, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@fire.org