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Oglethorpe County school district threatened to fire teacher Michelle Mickens unless she resigned over Charlie Kirk Facebook post

On September 29, 2025, the Oglethorpe County School System in Georgia informed English teacher Michelle Mickens, through her union representative, that she would be terminated unless she voluntarily resigned, after placing her on administrative leave over a personal Facebook post that quoted assassinated activist Charlie Kirk and explicitly condemned political violence. The Southern Poverty Law Center and Georgia Association of Educators sued the district in federal court on First Amendment grounds; the parties reached a confidential settlement paying Mickens roughly $270,420 plus $17,080 in attorney fees, announced July 3, 2026.

Jurisdiction
Georgia
Location
Lexington, Georgia

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Oglethorpe County School System (threatened termination unless the teacher resigned)
  • Beverly Levine (Superintendent, Oglethorpe County School System)

On September 29, 2025, the Oglethorpe County School System informed English teacher Michelle Mickens, through her Georgia Association of Educators representative, that the district did not want her to return to the classroom and that she would be terminated if she did not voluntarily resign. The district had sent Mickens home early on September 13, three days after she posted a quote from conservative activist Charlie Kirk — killed at a Utah Valley University event on September 10 — on her personal Facebook account, along with commentary that criticized Kirk's stance on gun policy while explicitly stating "I don't condone violence of any kind." A screenshot of the post was circulated publicly by a former classmate and amplified by a large account that included her employer's name, prompting complaints to the district. The district hired a replacement teacher for her position on October 14.

Mickens, represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Georgia Association of Educators, sued the Oglethorpe County School System and Superintendent Beverly Levine in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on October 20, 2025, alleging the district violated her First Amendment rights by disciplining her over off-duty political speech on a matter of public concern. Levine said in a statement that "many of the facts stated in the suit ... are inaccurate or incomplete" and that the district would litigate the matter in court rather than in public.

Updates

2026-07-03 — District settled the lawsuit, paying Mickens roughly $287,500 [3]

The Oglethorpe County School System reached a confidential settlement with Mickens, paying her $270,420 plus $17,080 in attorney fees while denying her allegations. SPLC senior supervising attorney Sam Boyd said the settlement affirmed that "public school employees, including teachers, have a constitutionally protected right to free speech."

Why we recorded this

The First Amendment protects public employees' off-duty political speech, even speech that is unpopular or controversial. A Georgia school district placed a teacher on leave and told her she would be fired unless she resigned, over a personal Facebook post that criticized a political figure's stance on gun violence while explicitly condemning violence — itself protected expression on a matter of public concern. When government employers threaten termination to punish lawful off-duty speech, they turn public employment into leverage for ideological conformity, and the six-figure settlement the district ultimately paid reflects the weakness of its position.

Sources

  1. Mickens v. Oglethorpe County School System — Complaint — Southern Poverty Law Center (court filing) primary accessed July 8, 2026
  2. Ga. teacher urged to resign after Charlie Kirk post is suing her employer — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution primary accessed July 8, 2026
  3. Ga. teacher gets nearly $300K in settlement over Charlie Kirk social media post — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution primary accessed July 8, 2026
  4. Teacher files lawsuit against Oglethorpe County School System — The Oglethorpe Echo secondary accessed July 8, 2026
  5. SPLC and Partners Settle First Amendment Lawsuit on Behalf of Georgia Educator — Southern Poverty Law Center secondary accessed July 8, 2026

See also