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In the fall of 2025, four South Carolina lawmakers threatened to block state funds to the private Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., unless the college fired an English professor for her writing. The professor, Dr. Emily Taylor, had published an essay titled “Dying to Be Men: American Masculinity as Death Cult” that was critical of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The essay concluded:

“I’m sorry for Charlie Kirk and all the other men like him that have been raised in this America and with these ideals of masculinity. I’m sorry that he decided to adopt this hateful ideology and to profit from it. And as the mother to a boy and a girl, my heart breaks for the America these children are growing up in. Here’s hoping we can save ourselves.”

In response, State House Representative Luke S. Rankin* called for Dr. Taylor’s firing. He followed up that threat with a letter, co-signed by fellow State House Representatives Mark Willis, John McCravy, and Craig Gagnon, that threatened to block funds via the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission unless the college fired her for her speech. On December 18, 2025, Dr. Taylor resigned because of the threats. On March 11, 2026, Dr. Taylor sued the four state lawmakers in U.S. District Court for what the lawsuit describes as “textbook, unconstitutional jawboning.” She is asking the court to declare the state lawmakers’ actions unconstitutional and order them to rescind their letter and threats. She also seeks compensation for back pay, lost benefits, and compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented in the case by the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina and by attorney Joshua Snow Kendrick of Kendrick & Leonard, P.C.