Overview

• Brittney Brown filed a federal lawsuit in Tallahassee on Oct. 1 seeking reinstatement and back pay after her Sept. 15 termination by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
• The complaint, brought by the ACLU of Florida and First Amendment attorney Gary Edinger, argues her private Instagram story repost about Charlie Kirk’s killing constituted protected political speech.
• FWC says it acted under a zero‑tolerance policy against promoting violence or hate and confirms it swiftly fired the employee after learning of the post.
• The filing describes a rapid sequence in which Brown was told to resign or be fired before a regional director arrived at her home with a law‑enforcement officer and a termination letter.
• The suit attributes the discipline to online amplification of her post by Libs of TikTok and alleges agency leaders consulted senior DeSantis administration officials before acting.