Free speech or misconduct? Court weighs FWC...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A fired Florida wildlife biologist is asking a federal judge to give her job back, claiming the state unlawfully punished her for exercising free speech.

Former Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist Brittney Brown was terminated in September after reposting a satirical Instagram comment about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The ACLU of Florida argues her dismissal violated the First Amendment and is now suing the state in Brown v. Young.

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Brown’s reposted message from the account @awhalefact read:

“The whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of Charlie Kirk — haha, just kidding, they care exactly as much as Charlie Kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all.”

The post gained attention after being highlighted by the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok, prompting FWC leadership to fire Brown within 24 hours. In a public statement, FWC said:

“We have a zero-tolerance policy toward the promotion of violence and hate. Upon learning of the social media post, FWC leadership took swift action, terminating the individual. We expect all our employees to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and always keep the public’s trust in mind.”

At Monday’s preliminary injunction hearing in Tallahassee, Brown’s attorney Gary Edinger said her firing was a drastic overreach.
“From our perspective and with the proofs that we have, they suffered no harm or inconvenience,” Edinger told reporters. “You know, we live in a world where things go viral… a couple hundred people maybe followed Libs of TikTok’s lead, complained about it, and in America, that’s not supposed to lead to a government firing.”

Edinger said his client’s lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to have her reinstated while the case proceeds, calling the court fight a potential “bellwether” for how far government agencies can go in disciplining employees for personal speech.

“We do expect to do well, and, yeah, I think it’s going to be an important statement— saying that the government can only go so far, and that we live in a free society,” he said. “We have to tolerate a diversity of opinion, even amongst our peers, our neighbors, and other public employees.”

Attorneys for the state declined to comment after the hearing. Still, they argued before the judge that Brown’s firing was based on internal policy, not her viewpoint, saying the viral post caused operational disruption within the agency.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker declined to rule from the bench, saying he would “try to issue a decision as quickly as possible.”

The controversy comes amid a broader debate over online speech and public employment. In September, Governor Ron DeSantis backed the removal of teachers, nurses, and other state employees who posted celebratory or mocking comments following Kirk’s assassination.

“No one's saying the government's going to put you in jail for doing that,” said DeSantis. “But I do think it's a problem. Is that someone you want teaching your kids when they say that this is something, this assassination should be celebrated, of course not.”

Days later, Attorney General James Uthmeier launched an online portal for anonymous reporting of what he called “threats of violent extremism.” Users can submit “screenshots, videos, and other evidence of threats of violent extremism” to the website.

“We’re not going to be the cancel culture that we’ve seen for so long from the left,” Uthmeier said. “We’re not going to believe in silencing individuals, but there’s a big difference when it comes to a threat of violence.”

For now, Brittney Brown remains unemployed, but her attorney says the outcome of her case could set an important precedent for how Florida and other states handle the personal speech of public workers.

Judge Walker has not said when he’ll rule, but both sides expect a decision soon. If the injunction is granted, Brown could return to her position at FWC while the broader lawsuit continues.

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