The state of Iowa will pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit by an attorney in the State Public Defender’s Office who was fired because of a social media post following the killing of rightwing activist and media figure Charlie Kirk. The payment was approved last week by the State Appeals Board as part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit alleging the state had violated the attorney’s right to free speech.
Attorney Maria Ruhtenberg had served in the Office of the State Public Defender for 15 years, representing indigent Iowans, when Kirk was shot and killed during an outdoor event at the University of Utah last year on Sept. 10. Ruhtenberg was appearing before the Iowa Supreme Court when the shooting occured, but saw the news later that day.
“Maria posted on her private Facebook page about the killing of Mr. Kirk,” the complaint in her lawsuit stated. “Maria also engaged with other citizens on Facebook about Mr. Kirk’s political views through her own post and by commenting on others’ posts.”
“In her speech, Maria indicated her disagreement with the views Mr. Kirk had expressed about the Second Amendment. Maria also stated Mr. Kirk’s killer should go to prison.”
In Facebook postings on Sept. 10, Ruhtenberg used two common phrases derived from passages in the New Testament: “live by the sword, die by the sword” (a version of Matthew 25:26) and “you reap what you sow” (a condensed version of Galatians 6:7-9). It was those two phrases Ruhtenberg’s superiors focused on in a meeting about her Facebook post five days later.
The Monday Sept. 15 meeting was an online video conference. Ruhtenberg was questioned about those phrases and other statements made on her private Facebook page. First Assistant Public Defender Kurt Swaim told Ruhtenberg “someone had reported [her posting] and sent in screenshots of some of her Facebook posts and comments.” Swaim never identified who reported the posts and sent the screenshots.
An hour after the meeting concluded, Appellate Defender Martha Lucey, Ruhtenberg’s immediate superior, told Ruhtenberg she was fired. Lucey gave Ruthenberg an official letter of termination signed by State Public Defender Jeff Wright stating she was fired “due to the statements she posted on social media,” according to the complaint.
The statements were made on Ruhtenberg’s private Facebook page, which did not identify her as an employee of the State Public Defender’s Office. They were not made during working hours and were not made using a state computer or other office equipment.
Following the state-mandated procedure, Ruhtenberg appealed her termination. On Nov. 17, an administrative law judge in the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing ordered Ruhtenberg reinstated with full backpay. The judge ruled that Ruhtenberg’s bosses had failed to show how the Facebook posts did anything to impede the work of the Public Defender’s Office.
The week after the judge ordered her reinstatement, Ruhtenberg filed a federal lawsuit arguing the state and Wright had violated her constitutional rights by firing her over comments she made as a private citizen.
The $125,000 approved last week is part of a settlement agreement in which Ruhtenberg withdrew her lawsuit before it went to trial. The state did not acknowledge any wrongdoing. Fifty thousand dollars of the settlement will go to attorney’s fees, and the remaining $75,000 goes to Ruhtenberg, who continues to serve as a state public defender.
“We’re pleased to obtain some measure of accountability,” Alan Albrecht, her attorney, told the Des Moines Register in a statement. “Maria would like to emphasize that she brought the case not just for herself, but to protect the next public employee from being silenced by government overreach.”
At least 10 public employees in the state were fired or subject to discipline over statements made after Kirk’s killing. Ruhtenberg’s case is the second to be settled with a six-figure payout.
Last month, the Creston Community School District (CCSD) settled a lawsuit filed former Creston High English teacher Melisa Crook, who the district tried to fire in response to her comment on a family member’s Facebook post about Kirk’s death.
“He is a terrible human being … terrible,” Crook wrote. “I do not wish death on anyone, but him not being here is a blessing.”
Crook later clarified that she was not condoning violence and apologized for phrasing her response poorly. By then, pro-Trump posters on social media were circulating Crook’s comment and demanding she be fired. The school and district received threats, both online and over the phone, targeting Crook. The district put Crook on administrative leave, before deciding to fire her. Crook filed a federal lawsuit arguing that firing her over a private Facebook post unrelated to her job violated her First Amendment rights. In October, a federal judge found Crook was likely to succeed in her lawsuit and issued an injunction preventing the district from firing her while the lawsuit was ongoing.
Last month, CCSD announced a settlement in the case. The district agreed to pay Crook $145,000, as well as her full salary and benefits for the year, which amount to $82,000. Crook remains on administrative leave and will resign at the end of the school year. All references to the Facebook post and the district’s subsequent actions will be removed from Crook’s personnel file. Crook and the district agreed not to make disparaging comments about each other.
As part of the settlement, CCSD also agreed to distribute a public statement about “respect for the diverse opinions, beliefs, and affiliations that exist among our staff, students and families.”
