South Carolina teacher assistant fired over Charlie Kirk posts sues district

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A teacher assistant fired over private social media posts regarding the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has filed a lawsuit against her former South Carolina school district.

According to court records, Lauren Vaughn, now a former employee of River Ridge Elementary School, filed a lawsuit last Thursday against Spartanburg County School District Five, claiming she was wrongfully terminated as the district’s social media policy violated her First and 14th Amendment rights.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Vaughn worked for six years at River Ridge Elementary, had no disciplinary history and was awarded the school’s support staff employee of the year in 2021.

The suit alleges Vaughn was fired September 15 because of a post she made on her private Facebook account criticizing Kirk’s Second Amendment position.

Specifically, the suit states Vaughn shared a 2023 quote from Kirk regarding gun deaths in America.

“‘I think it’s worth [sic] to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second amendment to protect our other God-given Rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational,’ – Charlie Kirk. Thoughts and prayers,” the social media post said, according to court documents.

The post was deleted the same day it was made.

The post, the suit claims, was made on a personal device, outside of school hours and on an account only visible to friends. It made no reference to District Five, River Ridge Elementary, Vaughn’s job or her students.

The suit alleges District Five placed Vaughn on administrative leave after claiming to have gotten complaints about the post, and she was later fired for violating the district’s social media policy.

Vaughn’s lawsuit claims the district’s social media guidelines, which tell employees they must be respectful and professional in all communications, regardless of setting, are overbroad and limit the ability for staff to express critical opinions.

Vaughn claims she suffered lost wages, harm to her reputation and emotional distress as a result of her firing.

The lawsuit asks a court to declare District Five’s decision to fire Vaughn and the district’s social media guidelines unconstitutional, and for her to be reinstated or awarded payment she lost as a result of her firing.

See the court filing below:

A spokesperson for Spartanburg District Five said the district is aware of the lawsuit, but cannot comment on pending litigation.