RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A veteran educator from Rutherford County is taking legal action against her school district, alleging she was dismissed due to content she posted online.

The federal lawsuit alleges her termination violated her First Amendment.

Susannah O’Brien, a long-serving teacher, lost her position after sharing two Facebook posts about conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, who tragically died in September.

One of her posts questioned the decision to lower flags as a tribute to Kirk. Another post, sourced from the political page Occupy Democrats, criticized Kirk, stating he spent his life negatively targeting immigrants and other groups before his death in a predominantly white area.

O’Brien’s attorney, Mark Downton, said O’Brien was punished for expressing a personal viewpoint on her own time.

“This is a blatant infringement of her free-speech rights, as the school board represents the government, punishing her for expressing views on relevant issues,” said Downton.

The court documents reveal that O’Brien made these posts privately using her account “on her own time and personal devices,” with the privacy set to “friends only.” It’s emphasized that she did not mention her workplace or identify herself as a teacher in the posts.

“These posts were made during her personal time on her Facebook page,” Downton remarked. “They were unrelated to her professional role or the schools. It was merely a meme, not any kind of long-winded commentary.”

Within a week, O’Brien was placed on unpaid leave. Days later, she was fired for what the district called “unprofessional conduct” that was “not in alignment with the expectations as an educator of Rutherford County Schools.”

Filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Nashville, the 15-page lawsuit accuses Director of Schools James Sullivan and the Rutherford County Board of Education of violating O’Brien’s constitutional rights. The lawsuit seeks reinstatement, pay and damages.

Legal experts say the case will likely hinge on whether O’Brien’s posts caused any disruption at school — a key standard in workplace speech cases.

Gregory Magarian, a professor at Washington University School of Law, said the district’s reasoning could set a dangerous precedent if upheld.

“You might be able to say a teacher stood up in class and called Charlie Kirk a terrible person, and that would disrupt the school environment,” Magarian said. “But the government can’t make that argument when a teacher is posting from their own home on their own time.”

He added that allowing districts to fire employees for unpopular opinions expressed privately would erode the very rights public servants are supposed to retain.

“If the school district can win this case, then it’s open season,” Magarian said. “Even if a teacher quietly says at a social gathering, ‘I really disagree with Charlie Kirk,’ and someone posts that online, the district could claim it interferes with the school. That completely guts a teacher’s First Amendment rights.”

O’Brien’s legal team has also filed a temporary restraining order asking a federal judge to reinstate her immediately. A hearing on that motion is set for Friday at 1 p.m. in federal court. If granted, the order would remain in place until a later preliminary injunction hearing is held.

Downton said his client’s goal isn’t just to get her job back.

Rutherford County Schools sent News 2 a statement Thursday morning, which read: “We did receive a legal notice yesterday. We don’t comment on pending litigation but our legal representatives plan to respond through the judicial process.”