Ball State settles $225,000 First Amendment lawsuit

A former Ball State University administrator will receive $225,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging the public university violated her First Amendment rights by firing her over a private Facebook post about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The settlement was announced Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which represented Suzanne Swierc, the university's former director of health promotion and advocacy.

Swierc was terminated in September 2025 after a post she made on her private Facebook account regarding Kirk's death was circulated publicly. In the post, Swierc described Kirk's killing as a tragedy for his family but also called it a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed. She wrote, "If you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can't be friends." University President Geoffrey Mearns stated the post was the sole reason for her dismissal, saying it caused significant disruption to the campus.

The ACLU argued the termination was unlawful because Swierc was speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern. "The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this...