Assistant professor fired for Charlie Kirk post sues Clemson University
One of the assistant professors who was fired from Clemson University for a post he shared in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination is now suing the school.
Joshua Bregy, who was an assistant professor in Clemson’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences since January 2023 when he was fired, filed the suit in federal court Friday along with the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina.
Bregy, whose lawsuit says he received consistently received positive evaluations from students and his department chair, is suing to get his job back as well as back pay.
Following Kirk’s slaying, Bregy shared a post written on another Facebook profile that said “I’ll never advocate for violence in any form, but it sounds to me like karma is sometimes swift and ironic. As Kirk said, ‘play certain games, win certain prizes.’”
The post also said, “Let me preface this post by saying that violence is never okay and as much as I dislike someone and their cruel ideas, I would never want their life to be taken in an act of violence.”
Even though Bregy’s Facebook account only allowed confirmed friends to view posts, the post, along with posts that appeared to mock or celebrate Kirk’s death from two other Clemson staff members, was flagged by the Clemson College Republicans. It eventually led to social media backlash from Republican elected officials who called for the ousting of the three employees.
Clemson also received a letter from the legislative budget chairmen, the House speaker and Senate president calling on the school to take immediate and appropriate action.
“But however challenging it must have been for Clemson to confront bullying legislators or the online mob and its 280-character pitchforks, the First Amendment does not credit Clemson’s impulse to capitulate as a ‘legitimate’ interest,” the lawsuit said.
The school fired all three employees after days of public pressure mounted.
“There is no question” that Bregy was fired for engaging in protected speech, the lawsuit said. Clemson “caved” to pressure, according to the lawsuit. Only hours after promising an individualized investigation, Clemson Provost Robert Jones advocated for Bregy’s firing.
“The First Amendment protects the rights of public employees to speak in their personal capacity on important public topics,” said Allen Chaney, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina. “When it comes to free speech, Clemson isn’t allowed to cave to the whims of a political mob. Fortunately for us all, the Constitution is made of sterner stuff than that.”
Clemson declined to comment.
Attorney General Alan Wilson told the school that it would be protected from criminal prosecution if it fired employees for posts made after Kirk’s assassination, but said the employees would have the right to sue.
Legal experts told The State in September that Clemson could face litigation for its actions. Most employee speech would be protected under the First Amendment because the university is a public institution.
The only exception would be “fighting words,” or statements that incite immediate violence. If the speech had disrupted the classroom setting, that may have also been considered.
But according to Bregy’s lawsuit, there was no evidence the Facebook post undermined, disrupted or implicated his duties at Clemson.
In Bregy’s lawsuit, the ACLU includes a timeline of events, which includes social media posts from conservative lawmakers as well as a letter from legislative leadership.
Two days after Kirk’s assissanation, and a day after Bregy’s post, the former assistant professor attended a regular faculty meeting and then a meeting with his faculty advisors. The advisors offered Bregy encouragement and said they thought the backlash would blow over, the lawsuit said.
“A member of the Clemson College Republicans who is also (a) student of Dr. Bregy’s even reached out to Dr. Bregy by email to explain that he opposed the views expressed in the Facebook post but still thought it would be wrong if he got in trouble for his speech,” the lawsuit said.
Bregy told the school administration about the email.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM.
