A former University of Mississippi staffer who was fired over a post she shared in the aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing is now suing the university’s president for Constitutional violations.
Lauren Stokes, the former executive assistant for the vice chancellor at Ole Miss and a local restaurant owner, filed a lawsuit Monday against Chancellor Glenn Boyce, arguing that he infringed upon her First Amendment rights when terminating her employment. Stokes filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi and is represented by New Orleans-based attorney Alysson Mills.
Stokes became the subject of widespread scrutiny on social media for content she shared after Kirk was killed at a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The post in question referred to Kirk as a “reimagined” Ku Klux Klan member, whose politics were responsible for school shootings, mass killings via gunfire, anti-abortion laws, and acts of brutality committed against racial minorities.
She later apologized for the remarks, acknowledging that the post she shared was “not kind,” and that she looked forward to getting off the internet to “re-evaluate kindness, privacy, and respect for all.”
Stokes was promptly removed from her role at the university, with Boyce justifying her termination by stating that her comments “run completely counter” to the institution’s values of civility, fairness, and respecting the dignity of each person. Stokes, on the other hand, argues that she was the victim of an unlawful attempt by Boyce to have her and all university employees conform to a particular worldview, limiting their ability to speak and think freely.
“We live in a war of words. People’s lives are destroyed not by the things they did but by the things they said or did not say, even privately, after apologizing. A private employer might require its employees to confirm a point of view. But the state, acting through its university, cannot,” the lawsuit reads.
“By terminating Lauren for reposting the speech in question, the University says its employees must conform to a point of view. That ought to distress all of us. After all, today’s policed are tomorrow’s policemen. No state institution should purport to wield such power.”
Stokes contends that Boyce willfully violated her constitutional rights so that the university could avoid controversy. But while Ole Miss may have been able to escape a public relations nightmare by removing Stokes from the payroll, the former staffer asserts that her public firing caused her to face multiple avoidable challenges, particularly relating to her business.
Stokes and her husband, John, own Tarasque Cucina, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in Oxford. When Stokes’ initial social media repost went viral, masses flooded the internet to give the restaurant negative reviews, tanking its overall star ranking on platforms like Yelp and Google Reviews.
Some folks took things a step further, according to the lawsuit, as Stokes said she and her husband received harassing calls and messages, including bomb and death threats “nonstop for days.” Stokes added that she left town for her safety and closed the restaurant for two weeks. She and her husband have since beefed up security at Tarasque, which Stokes said has come at a high price.
After enduring backlash for her social media usage, Stokes confided in a therapist who is both employed by the Ole Miss counseling center and also practices privately. She met with the therapist, who is said to have been supportive of Stokes, as a private citizen. However, days after Stokes retained the counseling services, the therapist said she could no longer see Stokes and cited a conflict of interest as her reason. Stokes believes Boyce pressured the therapist to drop her as a client.
“Discovery likely will show that, incredibly, the University instructed the therapist to dump Lauren. Any discussion of Lauren between the therapist and the University is a gross violation of Lauren’s privacy and HIPAA,” the lawsuit continued. “It is furthermore outrageous that the University would interfere in a private therapist-patient relationship under any circumstances, but especially here, where the University already caused Lauren such suffering.”
The alleged damage didn’t end there. With multiple sports seasons currently underway at Ole Miss, Stokes said this time of year is prime for Tarasque to be rife with orders for the university’s various teams and clubs. Stokes claims that Ole Miss cancelled all standing orders for home football games, and that Boyce instructed all of the university’s constituencies not to place orders at Tarasque.
“These acts are no way to treat a member of the shared Ole Miss community who has so meaningfully contributed to it over the years. As a result of these acts, Lauren has suffered extreme emotional and financial damages, for which Boyce and the University are liable,” the lawsuit concluded.
Stokes’ attorney requested a trial by jury in this case. At this time, neither Boyce nor any officials from Ole Miss have commented on the lawsuit.