Former University of Mississippi employee Lauren Stokes is accusing Chancellor Glenn Boyce of violating her First Amendment rights by firing her after she shared a post on social media that criticized conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination on Sept. 10.
“We live in a war of words. People’s lives are destroyed not by things they did but by things they said or did not say, even privately, even after apologizing. A private employer might require its employees to conform to a point of view. But the state, acting through its public university, cannot,” the lawsuit says.
“By terminating Lauren for reposting the speech in question, the University says its employees must conform to a point of view,” it continues. “That ought to distress all of us. After all, today’s policed are tomorrow’s policemen. No state institution should purport to wield such power.”
‘Public Employees Have First Amendment Rights’
The lawsuit says that “public employees have First Amendment rights” and a public employer cannot fire an employee for using her freedom of speech on her private social media accounts. A public employer could discipline employees if they made remarks in an official capacity as a representative of the university, it says.
But since Stokes made her remarks as a private citizen and the remarks were “matters of public concern,” her speech is “protected,” the lawsuit continues.
“It was not merely protected speech—it was protected speech made in the middle of a robust public debate, at that very moment wildly raging everywhere,” the lawsuit says. “The speech was not even Lauren’s; it was someone else’s. By terminating Lauren for reposting the speech, the university says that Lauren is not even allowed to agree with a point of view held by a substantial portion of the nation.”
‘I Do Not Support Violence of Any Sort’
On her private Instagram account on Sept. 10, Lauren Stokes reposted someone else’s social media post that called Kirk a “yt supremacist and reimagined Klan” member who “wreaked havoc on our communities, condemning children and the populace at large to mass death for the sake of keeping their automatic guns.” (“Yt” is slang for “white”).
The post that Lauren Stokes shared alluded to the oftentimes inflammatory ideas that Kirk built his career on through his podcasts, videos and public engagements. In recent years, he’s said that “prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people” and claimed that some of the most accomplished Black women in the country “had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.” When asked about gun violence during a Turning Point USA Faith event in April 2023, Kirk said “it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment.”
Stokes later removed the post after she learned it had offended someone who saw it, the lawsuit says, noting that she posted an apology afterward on Sept. 10.
“I am so truly and deeply sorry to those I have offended. We are lucky enough to know and employ people from all walks of life—trans, MAGA, cat lovers, dog lovers, Republicans, independents and Democrats. In all facets, we strive to be kind and hold space for it all. My husband and I do not support violence of any sort,” wrote Stokes, who owns Tarasque Cucina restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi, with her husband, John Stokes.
In the lawsuit, Lauren Stokes said that she was “attacked online” and so she sought guidance from the university’s human resources department on Sept. 11. She also met with members of the University Police Department, who said they were “aware of the attacks” and said the Oxford Police Department would be providing security at her restaurant, the lawsuit continues.
By noon that day, the lawsuit says things had changed “abruptly” and that the university asked for Stokes’ resignation. She tried speaking to a lawyer, but the school “would not wait” and fired her at about 12:50 p.m., the lawsuit says.
It mentions an official statement that Boyce posted on Facebook at 1:10 p.m. about Stokes’ termination, in which he said the post’s “comments run completely counter to our institutional values of civility, fairness and respecting the dignity of each person.”
“The press release leaves no doubt that Boyce fired Lauren for the repost’s point of view,” the lawsuit says.
Boyce’s press release did not mention Stokes’ apology, the lawsuit notes. Media outlets then began reporting on her termination, which the lawsuit said led to people sending harassing and threatening messages to the Stokeses and their restaurant.
“Lauren, you’re not gonna have your restaurant much longer, you’re targeted and you’re no longer worthy in this world,” said a message the Stokeses received after Kirk’s assassination, the lawsuit noted.
Stokes Fled Oxford, Lawsuit Says
Due to the threats, Lauren Stokes fled Oxford and closed her restaurant for two weeks. She sought out a therapist who was employed by the university and began having sessions twice a week. But on Sept. 19, the therapist told Stokes that she could no longer provide counseling to her because of a conflict of interest.
“Discovery likely will show that, incredibly, the university instructed the therapist to dump Lauren,” which violates Stokes’ privacy and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says the Stokeses reopened their restaurant but now have to pay for security.
If she wins the lawsuit, the filing says Stokes wants the Court to “declare that Glenn Boyce” both officially and personally “violated her First Amendment rights.” She also wants Boyce to pay for compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and “any and all other relief as may be just and equitable.”
The Mississippi Free Press called Stokes’ lawyer, Allyson Mills, for a comment for this story on Tuesday, but she declined to comment and said to refer to the lawsuit.
University of Mississippi spokesperson Jacob Batte said the university does not comment on pending litigation when the Mississippi Free Press asked for comment on Tuesday.