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The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit supporting a Georgia teacher who said that the “world is a bit safer without him,” referring to Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was assassinated in September.
The lawsuit, filed by the SPLC and the Georgia Association of Educators on behalf of Michelle Mickens, a teacher at Oglethorpe County High School, alleges her free speech rights were violated for posting that the world was “safer” without Kirk.
In a reply to a post that Mickens, who was a 2022 Georgia Teacher of the Year finalist, made about Kirk, she wrote, according to the lawsuit, “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, the 31-year-old co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during his American Comeback Tour.
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On Monday, the SPLC and the Georgia Association of Educators filed the lawsuit, alleging Mickens’ First Amendment rights had been violated, saying, “In September 2025, she was placed on indefinite leave and urged to resign for engaging in private, out-of-the-workplace speech on her personal social media account on matters of public concern.”
The lawsuit alleges that a former classmate of Mickens from out of state took a screenshot of her post that criticized Kirk and then circulated it online, which was ultimately shared with her school.
“The post neither disrupted her school nor created a controversy within her workplace,” the complaint reads. “The decision to remove Ms. Mickens from her classroom has been the only disruption to the school’s operations. Still, Defendants have placed her on indefinite paid suspension pending termination of her employment because of her constitutionally protected speech and, though they have provided no notice of charges, made clear that they intend to terminate her.”
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The SPLC is calling for Mickens to be reinstated to her teaching position, “compensation for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, reputational harm, and other damages proximately caused by Defendants’ unlawful actions.” It also seeks attorneys’ fees and court costs.
The SPLC referred Fox News Digital to a statement from Michael Tafelski, interim deputy legal director at the SPLC, saying that Mickens is being “targeted” for her personal beliefs.
“This case is about resisting the growing attempts to exert ideological control over public education,” Tafelski said.
“Ms. Mickens is being targeted not because she violated any policy or harmed students, but because her personal views — expressed outside of the classroom — don’t align with those in power,” Tafelski added. “This unconstitutional censorship of protected speech endangers a healthy democracy. We look forward to defending Ms. Mickens to ensure she can continue serving her students, as she has for decades, without fear of politically motivated retaliation.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Beverley Levine, superintendent of Oglethorpe County School System, said, “The School District became aware of this lawsuit on Monday night. While many of the facts stated in the suit and the press statements on plaintiff’s behalf are inaccurate or incomplete, having been sued in federal court, the District prefers to litigate the issues in that forum and not in the press or in the public. The District is confident that it will prevail in defending against this litigation.”
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