SC teacher’s aide sues, alleging she had right to speak after Charlie Kirk killing

A Spartanburg County elementary school teaching assistant fired for a Facebook posting after the Charlie Kirk killing earlier this month has filed suit in federal court, alleging her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech were violated by the firing.

The lawsuit by former teaching assistant Lauren Vaughn also alleges the dismissal by Spartanburg County School District 5 violated her 14th Amendment right to due process of law.

Vaughn’s firing was one of a number of speedy job terminations related to comments by public and private workers in South Carolina and across the country in the wake of Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination at a Utah college where he was speaking.

Kirk, a conservative activist who sparked the youth vote for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, was a revered figure on the right and controversial in other circles. His death ignited a wave of conservative denunciations against criticism of Kirk.

In the lawsuit, Vaughn said that before she was fired, she was a decorated teaching assistant at the district’s River Ridge Elementary School who had won recognition as the school’s Support Staff Employee of the Year in 2021. She had “outstanding performance evaluations” and no disciplinary history during her six years at the school, the lawsuit said.

Melissa Robinette, public relations officer for the district, said in an email, “We have not received or seen the lawsuit as of yet, so we’re not in a position to comment at this time.”

Vaughn’s posting and additional comments were made Sept. 10, “on her private, personal Facebook account, outside work hours and using her own device,” the lawsuit said, adding the posting was visible “only to her private circle of friends.”

Her posting was a widely-reported quote by Kirk, who was killed by a single rifle shot while he was talking to students, in which Kirk supported the 2nd Amendment’s right to bear arms: “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. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.’ – Charlie Kirk. Thoughts and prayers,” the lawsuit said.

Vaughn further posted, “[T]he WHOLE point here is that any time someone is killed fits [sic] a tragedy. Even someone I may not like. Even someone I disagree with. But instead of accepting it, why don’t we do something about it?” In further comments, (Vaughn) made clear that her comment was, “I disagree with [Kirk] and think today should not have happened. I’m sorry it did,” the lawsuit said.

Vaughn also said on Facebook she “felt no satisfaction here. Just heartbreak for anyone and everyone affected by gun violence and a hope that one day, enough will be enough. At the end of the day, all want the same thing — for everyone to be safe in their school, home, church, in a public place, at a rally or event, or just out in public,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also alleged that Vaughn had her privacy settings set to where only her “Friends” could view the posting. The post did not refer to her job, her school or Spartanburg County District 5, the lawsuit said.

“Though she did not believe she had violated any policy or otherwise acted inappropriately, Plaintiff deleted the post later that same evening,” the lawsuit alleged.

Two days later, on Sept. 12, the school district placed Vaughn on administrative leave “solely because of her Facebook post,” the lawsuit said.

“District administrators later alleged that some parents and staff complained about Plaintiff’s post; however, Defendants have never identified the number, nature, or substance of such complaints. Importantly, Defendants have not documented any actual disruption to school operations,” the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit said Vaughn was dismissed under the school district’s social media guidellines, which caution employees they “must be respectful and professional in all communications” and “always represent the District … in the best light.”

Those social media guidelines are “unconstitutionally overbroad, vague, and viewpoint-discriminatory, as they ban criticism but not praise, chill discussion of matters of public concern, prevent a reasonable person from determining what speech is prohibited, and substantially limit more speech than the Constitution allows,” the lawsuit said.

Vaughn “did not believe her speech was inappropriate and never acknowledged it as such; she maintained it was political commentary on a public issue,” the lawsuit said.

Public employers cannot limit their employees from speaking out on matters of public concern, the lawsuit said.

Vaughn has suffered lost wages, lost benefits, reputational harm and emotional distress, the lawsuit said. She seeks a jury trial.

Federal Judge Donald Coggins of Spartanburg is presiding.

Vaughn’s lawyers are Jack Cohoon and Lydia Hendrix of Columbia.

The lawyers’ law firm, Burnett Shutt and McDaniel, posted on Facebook about the lawsuit.

“Today we filed what we believe to be the first lawsuit in the nation challenging the overreach of public employers who seek to silence employees’ voices for speaking on matters of public concern in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder,” the post said.

“Public employees do not give up their rights as citizens when they take public employment. We will fight for this brave client and for the free speech rights of all Americans,” the post continued.

Defendants in the lawsuit in addition to the Spartanburg County School District 5 are the district’s board of trustees and superintendent, Randall R. Gary.

Spartanburg School District 5 has 12 schools and serves 9,000 students. Its motto is “Every Child, Every Day.”

In a public message on the district’s home pages, Superintendent Gary said, “Our district has a rich heritage of excellence in every aspect of educational and extra-curricular endeavor. We are one of the top performing districts in the southeastern U.S. in academic achievements, as well as programs in the arts, leadership, choice magnet programs, technology and innovation.”

Vaughn’s lawyer Cohoon said in an interview, “The free speech protections of the First Amendment are especially important in times of political controversy. Public employees don’t leave their rights at the door when they take public employment.”

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 1:20 PM.