Free speech lawsuits mount after racist’s assassination

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Five months after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of lawsuits reveals how Americans were investigated, fired, and in one case, arrested for their online reactions to his death. The most dramatic case involves Larry Bushart, a retired police officer in Lexington, Tenn. A self-described progressive and "keyboard warrior," he'd been posting memes that mocked Republican officials' mourning over Kirk. Then local police came to his door. "They were very vague. I don't think they understood why they were there, but that it involved a Facebook post," Bushart recalls.

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Last month, the American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency for the way its leadership asked superintendents to report teachers for "inappropriate content" they may have shared about Kirk. The agency collected 354 complaints, and 95 are still being investigated. The AFT says this process " which was endorsed on X by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott " unleashed a "wave of retribution."

Public comments by federal officials also played a role. As he guest-hosted Kirk's podcast days after the shooting, Vice President Vance invoked what he called "civil society."

"It flows from all of us. So when you see someone celebrating Charlie's murder, call them out, and hell, call their employer," Vance told listeners.

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