US judge deals setback to SC teacher’s assistant fired for Charlie Kirk comment

A federal judge has denied a request to be reinstated during a pending lawsuit by a decorated Spartanburg County teacher’s assistant who was fired for making comments about slain right wing activist Charlie Kirk.

In denying the request for an injunction against Spartanburg County School District Five by fired teacher’s assistant Lauren Vaughn to get her old job back pending resolution of her case, U.S. Judge Donald Coggins wrote that Vaughn had failed to show that she would suffer “immediate and irreparable injury” if she didn’t get the job back.

“A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy,” wrote Coggins, who is based in Spartanburg. “To justify the exercise of this aggressive judicial power to restrain the behavior of a defendant, the moving party must make a clear showing that it is likely to be irreparably harmed if preliminary relief is denied.”

Coggins avoided discussing the merits of the case, in which Vaughn contends her free speech rights under the First Amendment were violated by the School District in firing her last September.

“The Court need not, and does not, make any predictions today about which party is likely to ultimately prevail on the merits,” Coggins wrote.

Jack Cohoon, the Columbia attorney who represents Vaughn, noted that Coggins’ decision did not touch on the facts of the case.

“Judge Coggins’ decision was based solely on his finding about immediate and irreparable harm. He was careful not to pass judgment on the merits of Ms. Vaughn’s claim,” Cohoon said.

Last Sept. 10, following Kirk’s assassination by a gunman at a Utah college he was getting ready to speak at, Vaughn posted a quote by Kirk on her Facebook page where Kirk had made a statement on gun ownership and gun violence: “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.”

Vaughn also wrote in comments on her page: “Any time someone is killed [it’s] a tragedy . . . But instead of accepting it, why don’t we do something about it?... I disagree with [Kirk] and think today should not have happened. I am sorry it did.”; and “[N]o satisfaction here. Just heartbreak for anyone and everyone affected by gun violence and a hope that one day, enough will be enough.”

The post was deleted the same evening it was posted. Within days, the district placed Vaughn on administrative leave for allegedly violating the district’s policies. She was fired Sept. 15.

In a filing opposing the injunction, the school district’s lawyers wrote, “After this post was brought to the District’s attention and following a thorough investigation including numerous interviews, the District determined that her post had caused a significant disruption to the business of the school and undermined her ability to continue as an employee.“

In an affidavit by School District Five human resources director Robert Jackson, Jackson described Vaughn’s posting as appearing to “support and endorse his death for the sake of the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms). The post garnered numerous responses questioning its cruelty, mocking nature and her poor timing.”

The affidavit alleged some teachers were “outraged” by the posting and one co-worker was so angry she could not talk to Vaughn, “leaving Ms. Vaughn crying for the rest of the day.”

Jackson also said, “The nature of the post, regardless of how she (Vaughn) meant it, was perceived as celebrating or endorsing the killing of Charlie Kirk.”

In a filing by Vaughn, her lawyer Cohoon and his co-counsel Lydia Robins Hendrix, asserted that Jackson’s characterization of Vaughn’s posting was “misleading and inaccurate.”

Vaughn’s post “included her disagreement with Kirk’s cruel statement, expressed a call to action for less violence, and lamented the loss of all those subjected to gun violence. As she elaborated, ‘this is in no way meant to be cruel. If anything, it’s the opposite. I disagree with him and think today should not have happened. I’m sorry it did. It’s awful. I would never, ever, celebrate the loss of a life.’ ”

Cohoon and Hendrix elaborated, “Moreover, even were Ms. Vaughn’s speech cruel and hurtful, it would remain subject to First Amendment protections under the circumstances of this case, as Defendants have failed to establish a material disruption that outweighs Ms. Vaughn’s constitutional protections to speak out on matters of public concern.”

The district’s lawyers, Susan Fittipaldi and Allen Smith, could not be reached for comment.

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 assassination at a Utah college where he was speaking. Kirk, who helped spark 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 fierce conservative denunciations against any 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. There, she 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.

River Ridge Elementary School has more than 750 students, preschool through fifth grade, and is located in Moore in Spartanburg County. Moore is off I-26 and is about eight miles east of the city of Spartanburg.

This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 10:44 AM.