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A former Ball State University employee who was fired last week for comments made on a private Facebook post regarding the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has filed a federal lawsuit against university President Geoffrey Mearns.
The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, claims the termination of Suzanne Swierc’s employment was a violation of her First Amendment rights.
Swierc had served as director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State from Aug. 9, 2023, until she was fired on Sept. 17.
In a post on her private Facebook page on Sept. 10, several hours after Kirk was shot and killed during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University, Swierc said, “Let me be clear: if you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends.”
“Charlie Kirk’s death is a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed. It does not excuse his death, AND it’s a sad truth,” she added. “The shooting is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for a college campus experiencing an active shooter situation.”
According to the lawsuit, the post was set to “private,” meaning only Swierc’s Facebook friends could see it.
A screenshot of the post, combined with Swierc’s description from the Ball State University staff directory, was later shared on other social media sites and submitted to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s “Eyes on Education Portal.” Rokita also shared the image on his official Facebook page and condemned Swierc’s comments.
The lawsuit states that two days later, Swierc received numerous harassing voicemails and text messages on her personal and work phones, as well as messages on her university email.
On Sept. 17, Swierc was called to a meeting with employee relations and notified that her employment was being terminated. During the meeting, she received a letter from Mearns explaining the reasoning for her termination.
“Your post was also viewed by current Ball State students, many of whom have written to the university expressing their concerns, describing your conduct as inappropriate and unprofessional,” Mearns said in the letter, which was included with the complaint. “The university also received communications from prospective students and their families, again, expressing concern about your conduct and indicating a concern about attending the university.”
Mearns said that Ro-Anne Royer Engle, vice president for student affairs at Ball State, reviewed the incident and recommended Swierc’s termination, a move that was ultimately made by Mearns himself.
Mearns is the lone defendant named in the lawsuit. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Inside INdiana Business.
“Ms. Swierc’s termination resulted directly and exclusively from the exercise of her expressive rights,” the lawsuit reads. “Ms. Swierc’s Facebook post was made as a private citizen and not pursuant to any professional duties or responsibilities that she had as an employee of Ball State University. [Her] expressive activity did not hinder and was not likely to hinder her ability to do her job or her office’s proper functioning.”
With the lawsuit, Swierc is requesting a jury trial and seeking a permanent injunction requiring Mearns to expunge all records of her termination. She is also seeking an undisclosed amount in damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and “all other proper relief.”
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