A former Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist who was fired in September over sharing a post from another account that referenced slain conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk was awarded a $485,000 settlement from the state on Thursday.
“All I wanted was my job back. I see no leaders amongst FWC ‘leadership,’ but that’s to be expected when a state agency becomes the governor’s personal puppet show,” biologist Brittney Brown wrote in a statement shared by the ACLU of Florida.
Brown was fired over sharing a post that originally came from a comedic whale-themed account, which she shared on her private Instagram account on Sept. 10, 2025, according to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU’s Florida affiliate.
“The whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of charlie kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as charlie kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all,” the post read.
The commission rebuked Brown’s repost in a statement announcing her firing, saying that they “have a zero-tolerance policy towards the promotion of violence and hate, and we will not stand for such behavior.”
Prior to her termination, Brown’s repost caught the attention of the popular right-wing social media page “Libs of TikTok,” which shared a screenshot of the repost alongside a screenshot of her LinkedIn profile on X.
“She allegedly posted this disgusting message mocking Charlie’s ass*ssination. Your tax dollars pay her salary. She should be fired ASAP,” the right-wing page wrote.
The lawsuit argued that the general public would never have known that Brown was a public employee of any agency “but for the doxing engaged in by the “Libs of Tik Tok” account on social-media platform X.”
Brown received a call from her supervisor less than 24 hours after the right-wing page exposed her, asking her to choose between resignation and termination, according to the lawsuit. On Sept. 15, 2025, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced it had terminated her employment.
“Someone made sure to alert Libs of Tik Tok that FWC had fired me — ten minutes after meeting with me and well before communicating with the public,” Brown wrote in her statement.
Florida officials have agreed to resolve Brown’s claim that her First Amendment rights were violated when her employment was terminated, according to the ACLU of Florida.
“The ‘Free State of Florida’ only provides First Amendment protections to those in favor with the current administration, while the rest of us are expected to fall in line or risk losing our livelihoods,” Brown wrote in her statement.
The commission will pay Brown $275,000, $40,000 in back wages, $235,000 in compensatory damages and $210,000 in attorneys’ fees.
“This administration would rather spend Floridians’ tax dollars to line the pockets of the governor’s chosen law firms than admit they made a poor, politically motivated decision,” Brown wrote.
She will also receive a neutral reference for future employment.
“These concerning practices underscore the extent to which political pressure from Tallahassee is influencing our state agencies,” the biologist continued. “FWC employees deserve better, and so do Floridians.”
