A respected Georgia teacher once honored as a Teacher of the Year finalist is suing her school district after she was placed on indefinite leave for comments she made on social media about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk, 30, the founder of the right-wing group Turning Point USA, was gunned down outside a hotel in Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, in what authorities described as a politically-motivated attack.
Police have charged Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, with aggravated murder and a string of related offenses including obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Prosecutors allege Robinson spent more than a week planning the ambush before opening fire from a rooftop at 12.23pm as Kirk debated students at the first stop of his ‘American Comeback Tour’ for Turning Point USA event.
Kirk was struck once in the neck in front of horrified students and died shortly after.
According to court filings, Robinson had become increasingly radicalized online, expressing deep animosity toward Kirk’s politics in the months before the shooting.
According to court filings, Robinson had become increasingly radicalized online, expressing deep animosity toward Kirk’s politics in the months before the shooting.
Kirk’s death sparked national outrage and condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans.
The killing also ignited a fierce online backlash, with hardened liberals celebrating Kirk’s death and posted mocking memes.
Mickens was a finalist in the 2021 Teacher of the Year event, which celebrates ‘outstanding’ public school teachers in Georgia
Lawmakers and advocacy groups denounced the posts as ‘abhorrent,’ warning they reflected the toxic polarization consuming American political life.
Michelle Mickens, 55, taught English at an Oglethorpe County high school before posting about Kirk on her private Facebook account hours after the shooting.
The 2021 Teacher of the Year finalist, who has taught for more than 20 years, is now suing the Oglethorpe County School System, claiming it urged her to resign and violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Mickens said in her complaint that her ‘private, out-of-the-workplace’ comments ‘did not harm her employer or disrupt her workplace,’ according to court documents viewed by Daily Mail.
Her Facebook post quoted a remark Kirk had once made about gun violence: ‘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.’
Mickens, a Teacher of the Year finalist, claims in her lawsuit that the school’s ‘retaliatory’ action against her violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment
Mickens said while she doesn’t ‘condone violence of any kind,’ Kirk, who was assassinated in September, was ‘a horrible person’ who was ‘full of hate’
The lawsuit says Mickens engaged in a brief ‘back and forth’ with friends online, criticizing Kirk but condemning political violence.
She wrote: ‘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… While I’m sad we live in a country where gun violence is an epidemic, the world is a bit safer without him.’
The next day, she was called to the principal’s office and told the school had received a complaint. Mickens later discovered a former classmate had shared screenshots of her post on X (formerly Twitter), urging users to contact the principal and demand her removal.
‘[Mickens] claims Charlie Kirk was a ‘fascist full of hate’ and ‘the world is a bit safer without him,’ the viral post read. ‘Let principal Bill Sampson know what you think of letting someone like her teaching children.’
According to the complaint, the school told Mickens it did not want her to return.
Mickens, who only joined the Oglethorpe County school system in 2024, has taught for more than two decades and had never received a complaint throughout her career. She had earned two positive formal evaluations since joining the district, according to the filing.
The lawsuit also states that the school had already found a replacement teacher for her class before she was formally told not to return, a move her lawyers say shows administrators had made up their minds before any review took place.
The filing says Mickens maintains two separate Facebook accounts – one professional and one private – and that the personal page does not include any students, parents, or school employees except for close friends.
Her attorneys argue the district has no clear social-media policy governing teachers’ off-duty speech, and that she was unfairly punished while other staff were allowed to express pro-Kirk views on campus.
‘While Ms. Mickens has been on leave, other district employees who expressed pro-Charlie Kirk views were not disciplined for their expressive conduct,’ the complaint states.
Michelle Mickens, 55, has sued the Oglethorpe school district for an alleged unconstitutional firing for comments she posted on her Facebook account regarding Charlie Kirk
Mickens hadn’t received a complaint throughout her 20-year teaching career, the lawsuit stated
The filing claims some teachers wore ‘pro-Kirk’ T-shirts at school, participated in memorial events marking his birthday, and displayed shirts emblazoned with the word ‘Freedom’ and Christian crosses in his honor.
Her lawyer, Michael Tafelski, said in a statement that Mickens was ‘being targeted not because she violated any policy or harmed students, but because her personal views – expressed outside the classroom – don’t align with those in power.’
‘This unconstitutional censorship of protected speech endangers a healthy democracy,’ Tafelski added. ‘We look forward to defending Ms. Mickens to ensure she can continue serving her students without fear of politically motivated retaliation.’
Mickens is seeking reinstatement, removal of disciplinary references from her record, and unspecified damages for lost wages, emotional distress, and reputational harm.
Daily Mail has reached out to Oglethorpe County School District officials and Mickens’ legal team for comment.
