Ball State reaches settlement in Charlie Kirk free speech lawsuit

A former Ball State University employee terminated for controversial comments she made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk reached a $225,000 settlement in her First Amendment lawsuit, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

Suzanne Swierc filed the lawsuit against Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana after her firing in September.

Swierc’s attorneys say Mearns cited a private Facebook post Swierc wrote following Kirk’s death, which had gone viral on social media, in a termination letter to Swierc.

The ACLU of Indiana contends the comments are protected speech.

“Suzanne was speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern when Ball State fired her over a private social media post,” Stevie Pactor, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, said in a statement Tuesday. “The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this settlement reflects that.”

Swierc worked as director of health promotion and advocacy prior to her firing last September. She made $72,000 annually.

The ACLU of Indiana issued a news release Tuesday about the settlement, which was fully executed last week.

The organization says the agreement permits Swierc’s former colleagues to act as references and “provides that, if asked, her supervisors will acknowledge her position contributions to health promotion and advocacy work at the university,” according to the ACLU of Indiana.

Mearns responds

In a message to senior leadership on campus Tuesday, Mearns said the university “provided Ms. Swierc with a modest monetary payment.”

“I authorized that payment, because it is substantially less than the anticipated amount of our University’s legal fees to defend the case,” Mearns wrote in the email, shared with the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “The settlement does not vindicate Ms. Swierc’s claims, as her lawyers have stated today.”

Mearns continued, “My decision to terminate Ms. Swierc’s employment was based on the relevant facts, and it was guided by applicable First Amendment case law in the context of public education.”

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Swierc’s post drew condemnation from conservatives after it was shared to Attorney General Todd Rokita’s “Eyes on Education” portal, a state-owned site for the public to share tips about political bias in education, and circulated widely on social media.

Mearns cited the “incessant calls,” which he described as disruptive and “distressing,” the university received in the five days before Swierc’s firing.

“One staff member was so upset by the calls that she asked her supervisor to permit her to go home for the remainder of the workday,” he wrote.

In one instance, Mearns said a caller threatened an unnamed employee, “We’ll be coming after you next.”

“I knew that our colleagues all across our campus were having to endure these verbal assaults as a result of Ms. Swierc’s public statement,” he wrote.