On September 16, 2025, Clemson University fired Joshua Bregy, an assistant professor in Clemson’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, in response to social media posts that he made about the murdered political activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was killed on September 10, 2025. Following Kirk’s death, Bregy shared a post written by another Facebook user on his own Facebook account. The post condemned violence and expressed sympathy for Kirk’s family but criticized Kirk for divisive and damaging rhetoric. It stated, “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.” The author went on to say “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.”
While the privacy settings on Bregy’s own Facebook account were set to allow his posts to be viewed only by his direct connections, the original Facebook post was publicly viewable, meaning that Bregy’s re-post could also be seen publicly. A few hours after sharing the post, Bregy made his share private. The following morning, he deleted the post entirely at the request of Clemson University officials. On September 12, the university issued a statement saying that, while it disagreed with several faculty members’ statements about Kirk’s killing, it recognized their First Amendment free speech rights.
In the meantime, members of the Clemson College Republicans posted a screenshot of Bregy’s re-post on its X account, accompanied by text demanding that Clemson stop hiring “leftist” professors. The X post gained the attention of state and federal lawmakers and Clemson students and alumni, and prompted calls for Clemson to take action against Bregy and two other members of the Clemson community. South Carolina State Representatives Thomas Beach and April Cromer, among other elected officials, threatened to defund the university if it did not fire Bregy. South Carolina Speaker of the State House Murrel Smith and Thomas Alexander, the President of the South Carolina State Senate, wrote an official letter to Clemson’s Board of Trustees demanding that they take “immediate and appropriate action” against Bregy.
On September 15, Clemson University reversed course on its September 12 statement, announcing that it was suspending Bregy from teaching. On September 16, Clemson Provost Robert Jones wrote to Bregy to inform him that he was being fired. Jones explained that Bregy was being fired “for cause” for allegedly engaging in “blatantly unprofessional conduct,” that “could reasonably be construed as having extremely adverse effects upon Clemson University.” He stated, “I have also lost confidence in your professional fitness to continue to serve as a faculty member and your ability to be effective in the classroom.”
On October 3, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Clemson University for violating Bregy’s constitutional right to free speech and causing irreparable harm to Bregy’s reputation, and asking the university to rehire him and provide back pay dated to September 16.
Update 1/13: On January 8, 2026, the ACLU announced that Clemon and Bregy had come to a mediated settlement. Clemson agreed to reverse its firing of Bregy, in exchange for Bregy dropping his lawsuit against the university and resigning on May 15, 2026. Clemson agreed to provide Bregy his pay and benefits through his resignation date and to provide positive letters of recommendation to future employers based on Bregy’s teaching record.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the dismissal of a faculty member, apparently without due process and in response to outside pressure, over personal commentary on a matter of public concern. In addition to academic freedom, academics enjoy the full scope of freedom of expression as all other persons. Universities have a responsibility not to restrict the freedom of expression (free speech) of their employees when they speak as private citizens, and must refrain from retaliatory actions that punish, restrict, or chill such private expression. Disciplining academic staff for private expression undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally. SAR is also concerned about elected officials using their positions to threaten retaliation against a higher education institution unless the institution violates the rights of an individual, in this case by firing a faculty member for private expression. While elected officials have the right to express their opinions, they also have a responsibility to refrain from using their positions to threaten or otherwise intrude on the autonomy of higher education institutions to manage their operations. Such actions undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.chronicle.com/article/clemson-u-touted-free-speech-after-3-employees-posted-about-charlie-kirk-then-it-reversed-course
https://scdailygazette.com/2025/10/03/firing-over-charlie-kirk-post-was-unconstitutional-former-clemson-professor-claims-in-lawsuit/
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/education/article313282699.html
https://www.aclusc.org/cases/bregy-v-clemson/
https://www.aclusc.org/press-releases/fired-clemson-faculty-member-wins-settlement-after-being-fired-for-a-facebook-post-about-charlie-kirk/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/01/13/clemson-settles-professor-fired-kirk-comments