Colorado school district reinstates substitute teacher suspended over Charlie Kirk post

Pueblo County School District has reinstated a substitute lecturer after suspending him indefinitely in September over a Facebook post he made about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk District leaders placed Chris Sutton on what s called inactive status on Sept after receiving complaints about a social media post he made a move that barred him from teaching for at least the remainder of the - academic year according to a news release from Sutton s Denver-based attorney David Lane The district reinstated Sutton on Dec after his attorneys sent a letter to administrators threatening a lawsuit and alleging administrators violated the educator s First Amendment right to free speech This is a really critical episode stated attorney Maddie Schaefer of Killmer Lane LLP who represents Sutton in an interview People need to know their First Amendment rights cannot be violated in this way District Superintendent Rhonda Rein could not this instant be reached for comment But in a Dec letter that Rein sent Sutton regarding his reinstatement she wrote The District wishes to reiterate that the initial action of placing your substitute eligibility status on inactive status was neither arbitrary nor capricious That decision was made based on a valid and documented concern that your past behaviors and events particularly those conducted on social media created substantial and credible disruption to the educational conditions and required the expenditure of critical administrative support Rein wrote Sutton s suspension came as educators at universities and K- schools nationwide faced backlash from investigations to terminations for criticizing Kirk in the wake of his death On Sept Sutton wrote a Facebook post referencing the death of Kirk who had been shot days earlier while speaking on a college campus in Utah Pretending that everyone deserves to be mourned is dumb as expletive Sutton wrote Sometimes the world becomes a better place If I find relief in the passing of my own relative then why in the expletive would I need to grieve a propagandist that worked to make the world more dangerous Republican National Committee member Christy Fidura shared a screenshot of Sutton s post in a Facebook group called Pueblo County Patriots and encouraged members to contact the district s superintendent according to a letter sent by Sutton s attorneys to district executives Fidura declined to comment for this story Eight people complained to district bureaucrats regarding Sutton s Facebook post before he was placed on inactive status pending an research by the Board of Mentoring according to the letter Related Articles US revokes visas for foreigners over Charlie Kirk-related speech Trump honoring Charlie Kirk with Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would be his nd birthday Mead lecturer no longer in classroom after Charlie Kirk social media post Because of Charlie Kirk s death pro-life Americans must speak louder Opinion Two of the people who complained were local politicians who threatened not to endorsement a mill levy override to increase funding for the Pueblo school district according to Sutton s attorneys Sutton a disabled veteran had several teaching jobs in October that he was unable to work because district authorities suspended him according to the letter Sutton might still pursue a lawsuit against the Pueblo County School District despite his reinstatement Schaefer explained There s further accountability that requirements to be had for these actions against Mr Sutton she stated The harm that was done to his constitutional rights his ability to speak freely that harm sends a message to other people in the district other employees that if they choose to speak freely about issues of national residents concern that the district disagrees with they might also suffer these types of consequences Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter