Fired Clemson faculty member wins settlement after being fired for a Facebook post about Charlie Kirk

CLEMSON – Clemson University has rescinded its firing of an assistant professor who shared another person's Facebook post via his personal account that was critical of the late conservative pundit Charlie Kirk.

In a mediated settlement agreement, Clemson has agreed to rescind Dr. Joshua Bregy’s September 26, 2025, termination. Dr. Bregy will continue to receive pay and benefits throughout the original term of his employment, and Provost Robert H. Jones has agreed to provide positive letters of recommendation to potential employers based on Dr. Bregy’s classroom teaching.

“We were honored to represent Dr. Bregy and to reach an agreement that restores his employment, allows him to continue to pursue research funding, and deters the university from violating the First Amendment rights of its faculty in the future,” said ACLU of South Carolina Legal Director Allen Chaney. “Politicians and university administrators come and go, but years from now we will still be here. So will the U.S. Constitution.”

With the settlement agreement in place, Dr. Bregy has agreed to drop his lawsuit against the university and resign his employment effective May 15, 2026. He will not have teaching, research, or faculty obligations through the spring semester.

Clemson fired Dr. Bregy, a highly qualified and well-regarded assistant professor in the public university’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, on September 26, 2025. The repost that led to the firing was a critique of Kirk’s rhetoric and began with a condemnation of violence. The full text of the repost is copied below.

Clemson’s decision to fire Dr. Bregy came after a concerted effort by state and national politicians who threatened to defund the university if it did not bend to their will. As referenced in the initial lawsuit filed Oct. 3, 2025, faculty at Clemson said that the firing “sent shockwaves through the faculty, triggered an emergency meeting of the faculty senate, and has fractured the faculty’s trust and confidence in the Provost, University President, and Board of Trustees.”

For more information about this case, see our case page for Bregy v. Clemson.

This is the full text of the repost that Dr. Bregy shared on his personal Facebook account:

Let me preface this post by saying that violence is never okay and as much as I dislike someone and their cruel ideas, I would never want their life to be taken in an act of violence. Democracy should be built on ideas, not force. But I AM going to say this: If anyone thinks that a reasonable price for the second amendment is countless innocent lives, and then that person has the cold-heartedness and audacity to say that empathy is likened to a social disease, they will get no protracted sympathy from me. Unfriend me if you don’t like hearing this simple truth. I’ll never advocate for violence in any form, but it sounds to me like karma is sometimes swift and ironic. As Kirk said, “play certain games, win certain prizes.”

Moreover, the disgusting double standard for those on the “other side of the political line” is insane. Where was the outrage from the conservatives when Melissa Hortman, her husband, and even their dog was murdered in an act of political violence? Where were the thoughts and prayers from those who are outraged now? And why is there already a call from certain conservatives for retribution and violence? Doesn’t that say too much about what cruelty awaits in their vengeance?

Maybe you think I’m cruel too, but I’ll say this also – I truly grieve for Kirk’s family and friends. No one deserves to go through tragic loss like that. No one should be gunned down – not a school child, not an influencer, not a politician – no one. But am I going to allow people to make a martyr out of a flawed human being whose rhetoric caused notable damage? Not a chance.