Iowa Capital Dispatch
March 2, 2026
A western Iowa teacher who was fired after publicly commenting that she wouldn’t miss activist Charlie Kirk after his death last year has been awarded jobless benefits.
Jana Aldrich of Council Bluffs was a special education teacher who last year worked for the Omaha-based Child Saving Institute, a nonprofit with a mission of helping children with behavioral, mental and social needs.
According to state records, on Sept. 10, 2025, shortly after conservative activist Kirk was shot and killed in Utah, Aldrich posted a comment to Facebook. The post included a widely circulating meme that included Kirk’s April 3, 2023, statement in response to a question about gun deaths: “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
Above the meme, Aldrich added a comment of her own: “He was wrong…it’s not worth it! I won’t miss him!!!”
Aldrich posted the comment on her personal Facebook page during off-work hours, although her Facebook profile listed her employment as a special education teacher at Children’s Square, the name of an organization that was acquired by CSI.
Aldrich’s supervisors at CSI learned of the post after 12 members of the public contacted the organization and complained.
According to information CSI later provided at a hearing, two of the complainants were out-of-state residents and none of the 12 had children attending CSI or had any other direct involvement with the organization. Some of the complainants suggested they would attempt to jeopardize the organization’s funding if CSI didn’t terminate Aldrich’s employment.
CSI subsequently determined Aldrich’s post violated the organization’s social media policies in that they exhibited a lack of empathy and humanity, which directly contradicts the organization’s core mission and values.
Aldrich disputed those findings, arguing that her post showed empathy and humanity by stating Kirk’s rhetoric on gun deaths was wrong and that suggesting that no deaths — including Kirk’s — are worth the protections granted under the Second Amendment.
CSI disagreed, and Aldrich was fired on Sept. 12, 2025. She subsequently filed for unemployment benefits, which CSI challenged, arguing she had been dismissed for work-related misconduct that would disqualify her from collecting benefits.
The matter recently went to a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Jasmina Sarajlija, who ruled in Aldrich’s favor and awarded her benefits, finding there was no evidence her off-duty conduct was connected to her work.
Her post also did not contain any hateful or violent language that could be interpreted as condoning the shooting death of the activist.
– Administrative Law Judge Jasmina Sarajlija
Sarajlija also found that CSI had provided insufficient evidence that Aldrich’s conduct had caused any harm to the organization. Even if CSI has provided evidence of work-related misconduct that was damaging to the organization, Sarajlija stated, there was no evidence to indicate Aldrich’s Facebook post violated the organization’s policy calling for workers to represent CSI in a positive manner in their online activity.
“The post itself made no reference to the employer or claimant’s employment with the employer,” Sarajlija ruled. “Her post also did not contain any hateful or violent language that could be interpreted as condoning the shooting death of the activist.”
Aldrich said Monday she was pleased with the ruling and is still weighing her options as to any further legal action she might take.
“I will say that this decision made me feel vindicated with regard to knowing in my heart that they did the wrong thing at CSI, that it wasn’t right what they did to me,” Aldrich said. “So it made me feel vindicated in that sense. Right now, I’m just wondering whether I should take this any further.”
Calls to CSI for comment on the ruling were not immediately returned Monday.
Teacher threatened by Kirk supporters
After Kirk’s death last year, state Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, and state Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, signed a letter to the Iowa Board of Regents calling for the immediate firing of employees who, in their view, had “publicly celebrated” Kirk’s death.
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican, took to Facebook to assert that “teachers in Iowa (are) praising the assassination of Charlie Kirk.” Grassley wrote that he expected school districts to “investigate these posts and reprimand the posters appropriately,” adding that “if appropriate action is not taken, you can trust that the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee will address this issue and take action to root out this hate from our schools.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds publicly stated that anyone who celebrated “taking another human life, you know, shutting down free speech” should lose their job. “Anybody — anybody — that celebrates the execution of a human being is disgusting and unconscionable, and it’s just not acceptable. Political violence should never be accepted, period. Period, end of story.”
Within days, several Iowans were fired from their jobs for posting negative comments about Kirk or his political views, triggering civil lawsuits alleging wrongful termination and First Amendment violations, as well as administrative-law hearings on unemployment benefits.
At the same time, some of the individuals who were fired became the target of death threats posted on social media. A Creston school teacher was warned to watch her back, with one commenter stating, “It will be good when this b— gets taken out.”
One of the callers to the Creston school district said of the teacher, “We would like her head on a platter,” while another threatened to go after “every one of (the district’s) employees, find your porn, find your records, find everything and expose all of you” unless the teacher was fired.
Other posts condemned the Creston teacher as a “vile monster,” a “demon,” a “supporter of terrorism” and an “evil ghoul.” One individual told the school district, “You absolute s— human beings need to get it together and condemn hate.”
Other Iowans fired for Kirk-related comments
Here’s a look at some of the Iowa firings related to comments about Charlie Kirk and the current status of any resulting litigation:
— State board sued: Teachers Katherine Mejia of Manchester and Jennifer Smith of Johnston are suing the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners claiming it violated their First Amendment rights by openly soliciting formal complaints from public schools about teachers who posted comments about Kirk. Recently, a federal judge ruled the issue was best addressed in state court, at least for now.
In her ruling, Chief Judge Stephanie Rose of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa noted that the board’s actions followed “senior state officials publicly demanding termination of any educator who had criticized Kirk. The timing, the statewide reach, and the viewpoint-specific framing of (the board’s solicitation) present a picture that is, at minimum, deeply troubling. A licensing authority’s enforcement apparatus should not be mobilized in response to political pressure to suppress disfavored commentary on a public figure’s death — and this record raises serious questions about whether that is precisely what occurred here.”
— Creston district sued: Melisa Crook, a high school English teacher from Creston, sued the Creston Community School District in federal court after being told she was facing termination for her comments about Kirk. Crook had written of Kirk: “He is a terrible human being … terrible. I do not wish death on anyone, but him not being here is a blessing.”
In her lawsuit, Crook cited a series of pro-Republican posts by Superintendent Deron Stender and school board president Don Gee. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger granted Crook’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the district’s plans to terminate her. In her ruling on that issue, Ebinger concluded “Crook spoke as a citizen on a matter of public concern when posting her Facebook comment… Crook posted her Facebook comments on her personal time, at home, from her personal Facebook account. She did not purport to speak as an employee of the Creston Community School District.”
The school district has appealed that ruling while the underlying case proceeds toward trial.
— Oskaloosa district sued: Matthew Kargol worked for the Oskaloosa Community School District as an art teacher and coach until he was fired in September 2025 after posting to Facebook the comment “1 Nazi down” in the wake of Kirk’s death. He then filed for unemployment benefits, which led to a hearing before Administrative Law Judge David Steen. At the hearing, district officials said they fielded 1,500 telephone calls and 280 voicemail messages regarding Kargol’s posts.
Steen concluded the district fired Kargol for job-related misconduct that disqualified him from collecting unemployment benefits. Kargol’s posts, Steen ruled, “caused substantial disruption to the learning environment, causing staff at all levels to need to redirect focus and resources on the public’s response for days after the incident.”
Kargol is suing the district in federal court, alleging retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right to expression. A status conference is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2026, and a trial is scheduled for May 24, 2027.
— Polk City sued: Alissa Furry, a Polk City paramedic, was fired by the city after posing about Kirk: “I really don’t care that this guy died from gun violence. He was a bigoted prick, and according to his own words he died in an acceptable way. I have as much sympathy and empathy for him as that insurance CEO that was killed. I do care that two high school students were critically injured today due to gun violence at their school. Unfortunately, I’m seeing way more about this a–hole on my Facebook than I am the kids that were hurt.” Furry’s lawsuit alleging her First Amendment rights have been violated is still pending in federal court. A settlement conference is scheduled for March 31, 2026, and a trial is scheduled for April 19. 2027.
— State public defender sued: Maria Ruhtenberg, an attorney for the Office of State Public Defender, posted comments indicating she disagreed with Kirk’s views on the Second Amendment and that Kirk’s killer should go to prison – adding, “Live by the sword, die by the sword,” and, “You reap what you sow,” comments drawn from the Bible. Ruhtenberg was fired, triggering a lawsuit in which she alleged the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing had reviewed the matter and ordered the State Public Defender to immediately reinstate Ruhtenberg. The lawsuit was dismissed Monday with no indication as to whether a settlement was reached.
— ISU firing: Iowa State University: ISU fired financial aid professional Caitlyn Spencer for the online comments she was alleged to have made about Kirk: “Given Charlie’s previous comments about their ‘necessity’ to protect 2nd amendment rights though, this (expletive) got what was coming and I’m happy he’s rotting in hell now.” There’s no indication that Spencer is suing ISU in either state or federal court.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
SUPPORT
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.
