A former Chesterfield County employee and her lawyer are claiming she was unlawfully fired for condemning Charlie Kirk on social media after his death. Now, she’s suing the school system for violating her First Amendment rights, asking for damages totaling more than $15 million.

Alana Hartman-Hall — who used to be Clover Hill High School’s dean of students — is suing the Chesterfield County School Board, its individual members and the superintendent. 

In reaction to Kirk’s death, Hartman-Hall posted to Facebook: “When you promote violence and advocate for a percentage of teachers and students to be sacrificed to school shootings. You reap what you sow. If you aren’t in a school and aren’t responsible for kids you’ll never get it. Once again Charlie Kirk you reap what you sow.”

In an email to The Richmonder, her lawyer, Richard Hawkins III — who has been part of other high-profile lawsuits in K-12 education — said he has “no comment on the case except to say that ‘We look forward to our day in court.’”

A spokesperson for CCPS said the school division doesn’t comment on pending litigation. 

The case is unrelated to the resignation of Chesterfield School Board member Dot Heffron, who also made social media comments after Kirk’s death.

Hartman-Hall is one of many individuals nationwide whose employment was terminated following public comments made about Charlie Kirk’s death in September 2025 — many of whom are now suing. This has led to a slew of questions regarding how far the right to free speech extends when the employee in question works for the government.

The Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech advocacy group, has been taking part in this conversation. In the words of the foundation’s vice president for strategic initiatives, Adam Goldstein, “We’re in sort of uncharted territory now.”

“Generally speaking, at a public K-12 institution, an employee can’t be fired just for expressing an opinion, even if that opinion is upsetting to a lot of people,” Goldstein said.

Past court cases have hinged on whether the teacher’s speech causes a “disruption” to school operations, which can include complaints from parents or negative media attention.

If someone’s use of speech resulted in a significant enough chance to cause disruption, then the district can make a reasonable case for Hartman-Hall’s dismissal.

“The complaint uses the example of, well, they didn’t cancel classes, they didn’t cancel a football game. Those aren't necessary to argue disruption,” Goldstein said. “I should also point out that school administrators aren’t required to wait for a disruption before they act.”

Hartman-Hall’s lawsuit paints her as a beloved administrator and connected community member who received unfair backlash following her now-removed post. She also allegedly received threats of death and violence against her and her husband. 

Her post received attention from prominent Republicans, including then-gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears.

“This vile, heartless remark is completely unacceptable—especially from someone entrusted with our children,” Earle-Sears wrote on social media at the time, including a screenshot of Hartman-Hall’s post. “(She) must resign immediately.”

At the same time, her lawsuit includes sympathetic messages from other school employees and community members.

“If we look at the complaint and we accept what it says is true, there was a lot of outrage from places that aren't in the community, but the community still seems supportive,” Goldstein said. “What we don't really know is whether the school was being subjected to some form of external pressure or internal pressure, even from within the community, that made it impossible to function.”

There have been recent victories via settlement for employees who were fired in the wake of Kirk’s death, including in the education space. A former Indiana University employee settled for $225,000, as reported by The Associated Press. But higher education and public K-12 institutions are very different arenas.

“Colleges just generally have a form of independence that K-12 institutions really don’t,” Goldstein said.

Contact Eleanor Shaw at eshaw@richmonder.org. She is a Report for America corps member.