Former DESE employee files lawsuit after allegedly being fired over Charlie Kirk meme
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A lawyer who worked for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has filed a lawsuit against its commissioner.
Lindsey Phoenix, of Columbia, filed a lawsuit against Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger on Monday, claiming retaliatory termination and that her First Amendment rights were violated.
The petition alleges that after the shooting of divisive political commentator Charlie Kirk, Phoenix shared a meme to her private Instagram story on Sept. 10, 2025, “that read something to the effect of, ‘delulu is no longer the solulu. what we need is revolulu. with a side of assassinunu.’”
The lawsuit claims that prior to starting her role as working as legal counsel for DESE, Phoenix was trained on the state’s social media policy.
“The training included how a state employee could safely exercise their First Amendment rights on social media as a private citizen without jeopardizing their public employment,” court documents allege. “As part of the training, Plaintiff was encouraged and told to inform state employees that they could express themselves however they wished on social media as long as they were not representing themselves as part of the agency or State of Missouri.
“The general rule for social media use is that a state employee is free to post their political opinions as long as they are not representing themselves as speaking or representing the State of Missouri,” the petition alleges.
The petition says Phoenix’s account was set to private settings and that her profile did not identify herself as an employee of the state.
“The only group she identifies as explicitly being a member of in her profile is as a ‘full-time Swiftie,’” the petition alleges.
The lawsuit then claims “an acquaintance from high school” reported the meme to Eslinger. The petition alleges that Phoenix’s direct supervisor told her that she was not in violation of the policy and that Eslinger was out of town when the complaint came in.
Phoenix was then fired on Sept. 17, 2025, and was told it was not for performance issues, the statement says.
Following the Kirk killing, a number of people were fired or disciplined over their social media posts mostly around Kirk’s statements, which included a suspension of Hallsville School District employees. National reports claimed several people were targeted by an anonymous doxing website.
Recently, national outlets have reported that a number of the fired employees were getting paid out by their former employers after filing First Amendment retaliation lawsuits. Additionally, a retired police officer in Tennessee who was reportedly jailed over a Charlie Kirk meme was paid $835,000 in an unlawful incarceration case.
DESE wrote in an email to ABC 17 News that it does not comment on pending legal issues.
