Clemson University has rescinded the termination of assistant professor Dr. Joshua Bregy after he was fired on Sept. 26, 2025 for resharing a Facebook comment about the murder of Charlie Kirk. Under the settlement, Bregy will remain on payroll with benefits until he resigns by May 15, 2026, but he will have no teaching duties or student contact during that time. The agreement allows him to use Clemson as his affiliation for pending grants and requires the provost to provide positive recommendation letters. The ACLU praised the settlement as a defense of faculty First Amendment rights; a similar Tennessee case also reached a settlement this week.
Clemson Rescinds Firing After Professor’s Post About Charlie Kirk; Resignation Agreed by May 15, 2026
A view of Tillman Hall on the campus of Clemson University on June 10, 2020, in Clemson, South Carolina.
Clemson University and assistant professor Dr. Joshua Bregy have reached a settlement after Bregy was terminated on Sept. 26, 2025 for resharing a Facebook post that commented on the murder of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Under the agreement, Clemson rescinded Bregy’s termination and the professor agreed to resign no later than May 15, 2026.
Settlement Terms
Per the settlement made public this week, Bregy will remain on Clemson's payroll with benefits until his resignation date but will be prohibited from teaching or having any interaction with students during the remaining employment period. He agreed to dismiss his lawsuit against Clemson and its officials.
The agreement permits Bregy to continue using Clemson University as his institutional affiliation for any pending research grants through his resignation date. It also specifies that Clemson Provost Robert H. Jones will provide positive letters of recommendation to support Bregy’s future job searches.
Bregy dropped his lawsuit against university officials and will be restored to his employment at the university through May 2026.
What Bregy Posted
According to a press release from the ACLU of South Carolina, Bregy reshared a Facebook post that condemned the killing while suggesting that Kirk’s prior rhetoric invited a form of "karma." The repost said, in part, that he would never advocate violence, but that "karma is sometimes swift and ironic," and described Kirk as a flawed figure whose rhetoric had caused notable harm. The repost also included the line that "no one should be gunned down."
"We were honored to represent Dr. Bregy and to reach an agreement that restores his employment, allows him to continue to pursue research funding, and deters the university from violating the First Amendment rights of its faculty in the future," said ACLU of South Carolina Legal Director Allen Chaney.
Context and Related Cases
The settlement follows a similar outcome in Tennessee, where an associate professor at Austin Peay State University, Darren Michael, reportedly received a $500,000 settlement and will be reinstated after being fired in September for resharing a post quoting Kirk amid the aftermath of his murder.
In the weeks after Kirk's death, several higher-education employees posted on social media in ways that were widely perceived as celebrating or justifying the killing. Screenshots of those posts circulated online and prompted condemnation from Republican lawmakers and conservative groups seeking accountability.
Clemson University did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Original article source: Fox News Digital.
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