Public Employers Pay Over $4 Million For Punishing Kirk Comments
FIRE counts seven settlements, from a fired Tennessee professor to a retiree jailed 37 days, after Charlie Kirk comments.
- University of Tennessee paid $1.9 million after firing an anthropology professor over a Facebook post.
- Austin Peay State University gave professor Darren Michael $500,000 and reinstated his job.
- Larry Bushart won $835,000 after 37 days in jail over a Trump meme.
Why it matters: Public money paid twice: once to punish speech, once to settle for punishing it.
FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) press release ↗ · Jul 17, 20267/17/26 · ✓ Checked✓ Check