A former University of Mississippi employee is arguing in a federal appeal that a judge’s dismissal of her lawsuit against Chancellor Glenn Boyce would allow a government employer to punish a worker for protected political speech because of backlash from outside critics.
Lauren Stokes, the former Ole Miss employee, is asking the appeals court to reverse the dismissal and allow the lawsuit to proceed. The brief, filed Thursday in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, contends that firing a public employee over protected political speech violates the First Amendment.
Stokes’ appeal also contends that if the ruling dismissing her lawsuit stands, it would have important and risky implications for free speech.
“If the district judge is correct, a government employer may terminate an employee for no better reason than external hecklers disagree with her political point of view. No other facts matter,” the appeal states. “The First Amendment itself has nothing at all to say about it.
Chancellor of the University of Mississippi Dr. Glenn Boyce, center, speaks during a Institutions of Higher Learning meeting Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020.“That is not the law, but the district judge’s orders set a dangerous precedent that affects everyone, whatever their politics.”
Stokes, a former executive assistant in the university’s development office, was fired in September after she shared to her private Instagram account commentary about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and CEO of the political organization Turning Point USA. Stokes sued Boyce in federal court, claiming he violated her First Amendment rights.
On March 16, U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson ruled in favor of Boyce’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Davidson determined that Stokes failed to prove the chancellor violated her constitutional rights. Davidson also ruled that Boyce, in his role as chancellor, is entitled to qualified immunity, which protects him from liability stemming from doing his job.
When reached for comment, Stokes’ attorney Alysson Mills, said the brief speaks for itself.
Jacob Batte, a spokesperson for Ole Miss, said the university does not comment on pending litigation. Boyce’s attorney, Cal J. Mayo Jr., could not immediately be reached for comment.
Challenging a ‘heckler’s veto’
After Kirk was shot and killed, Stokes shared to her Instagram account a post from someone else that criticized the activists’ views on issues including race, gun control and abortion. generated immediate backlash for Stokes, who later deleted it. She also apologized to anyone the post offended, saying, “In all facets we strive to be kind and hold space for all. My husband and I do not support violence of any sort.”
Stokes said she shared the post in a “heated moment” and apologized again, saying she looked forward “to getting off the internet to reevaluate kindness, privacy, and respect for all.”
But she was too late, the appeal notes. Stokes was already being doxxed, and people were sharing screenshots of her post.
Conservative activists and state leaders, including Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, a vocal critic of what he calls “woke” initiatives in higher education, shared a screenshot of Stoke’s post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and tagged the university. As of Monday, White’s post has received about 60,000 views, 130 comments and has been reposted 1,300 times.
Stokes said she received death threats and bomb threats against her restaurant that forced it to close for two weeks.
The recent appeal claims that backlash, not Stokes’ actions, led to her firing. That equates to a “heckler’s veto” of Stokes’ politics, the appeal contends, and “the government cannot punish speech ‘simply because it might offend a hostile mob.’”
The appeal comes at a time when public employers across the country, including other colleges and universities, are facing lawsuits over whether workers can be disciplined for political speech posted on their personal social media accounts.
2026-07-16 [19] Appellant’s brief FILEDDownloadOn July 1, the University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees agreed to pay a $1.9-million settlement to a former professor who sued after being fired for comments she made about Kirk.
In May, Ball State University in Indiana paid a $225,000 settlement to its former director of health promotion and advocacy. She had been fired over a Facebook post in which she said Kirk’s killing was tragic but reflected “the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed.”
In the new brief, Mills notes that among numerous cases challenging a government employer’s firing of an employee for posting about Kirk’s death on social media, Stokes’ may be the first to go before a court of appeal “because it is the only such case to have been completely dismissed.”
Stokes’ case has also drawn the attention of free speech advocates, including The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, a nonprofit that frequently litigates First Amendment cases involving higher education.
Stokes’ appeal could have implications for how public universities discipline employees over political speech on personal social media accounts, said Greg Harold Greubel, senior litigation attorney for FIRE. He said the group plans to file an amicus brief supporting Stokes this week.
Greubel said he also thinks Stokes’ firing was driven by online outrage — a heckler’s veto — rather than actual workplace disruption.
Stokes maintains that her termination was not justified.
“I did nothing wrong,” Stokes said in an email to Mississippi Today. “I didn’t deserve to be fired.”
Education Editor Marquita Brown contributed to this report.
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