Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is encouraging school superintendents to remove teachers who’ve made social media posts about Charlie Kirk’s assassination — using a South Bend teacher as an example of why it would be legal.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports Rokita sent a six-page memo Monday to superintendents and public university administrators. He argues that even those speaking as private citizens can be disciplined, if it has the potential to disrupt a school’s operations.
As an example, Rokita mentions social media posts by a South Bend history teacher. He says a statement from the school that its response was limited by the First Amendment was based on incorrect grounds, and an assessment of the posts shows the teacher could legally be fired. Rokita calls the posts “crass and vulgar,” which would further limit their First Amendment protections.
He says his office got 25 complaints on those posts alone. He adds that those and others like it have sparked severe backlash that could disrupt school operations.
Screenshots of the posts were shared on the attorney general’s “Eyes on Education” portal, along with the date and time of last week’s school board meeting. Still, the three public comments on the posts during the meeting were all in support of the teacher.
