Clemson University and former assistant professor Joshua Bregy reached a mediated settlement in the Charlie Kirk lawsuit on January 3, 2026, ending Bregy’s federal First Amendment case over his September 2025 firing. Under the deal, Clemson rescinded the termination, agreed to pay Bregy through the end of his contract without teaching duties, and committed to positive letters of recommendation from the provost. Bregy dropped the lawsuit and agreed to resign effective May 15, 2026.1Inside Higher Ed. Clemson Settles With Professor Fired for Kirk Comments
What the Settlement Says
The parties filed a stipulation of dismissal on January 5, 2026, and Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin signed an order the next day dismissing the case without prejudice, with 60 days for the parties to finalize terms. If neither side moved to reopen within that window, the dismissal would convert to one with prejudice.2The Tiger. Clemson University Joshua Bregy Lawsuit Charlie Kirk Death ACLU Settlement
The core terms:
- Clemson formally reversed Bregy’s firing.
- He receives full contractual pay and benefits through the end of his original employment term.
- He is relieved of all teaching, research, and faculty duties for the spring 2026 semester and is barred from working with students during that time.
- Provost Robert Jones, who became interim president on January 1, 2026 after James Clements’ retirement, agreed to provide positive recommendation letters based on Bregy’s classroom teaching.3Clemson University. Clemson Board Appoints Bob Jones as Interim President
- Bregy resigns effective May 15, 2026.
- Bregy dismissed the federal lawsuit and agreed not to reassert any grievance arising from the underlying facts.4Greenville News. Clemson Professor Lawsuit Settlement Reached
The agreement did not include a separately disclosed monetary payout on top of the salary Bregy was already contractually owed.5SC Daily Gazette. Clemson Professor Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post Will Get Paid but Won’t Teach In practice, it functioned as a paid exit with the termination erased from his record. ACLU-SC Legal Director Allen Chaney said the agreement was intended to “deter the university from violating the First Amendment rights of its faculty in the future.”6ACLU of South Carolina. Fired Clemson Faculty Member Wins Settlement
The Post That Started It
Bregy had taught in Clemson’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences since January 2023. On September 10, 2025, the day Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, Bregy shared a post on his personal Facebook page that he later deleted. It read: “I’ll never advocate for violence in any form, but it sounds to me like karma is sometimes swift and ironic. As Kirk said, ‘play certain games, win certain prizes.'” The closing line referenced a prior Kirk comment about gun violence.5SC Daily Gazette. Clemson Professor Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post Will Get Paid but Won’t Teach
Clemson’s first public response acknowledged disagreement with the sentiment but recognized “faculty members’ rights to free speech under the First Amendment.” That posture shifted within days. U.S. Representatives Russell Fry and Nancy Mace, Senator Lindsey Graham, and President Donald Trump publicly called for consequences, with some threatening to defund the university.7Inside Higher Ed. Right-Wing Doxing Campaign Endangers Faculty and Free Speech On September 15, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson wrote to Clemson’s president asserting the university had “full legal authority” to act.8SC Attorney General. AG Alan Wilson Confirms Clemson Has Authority to Act
The Board of Trustees suspended Bregy that same day. Provost Robert Jones sent a termination letter on September 16, writing that Bregy had shown “extremely poor judgment” by “suggesting that a murdered person deserved to be killed” and that the university had lost confidence in his “professional fitness.”9The State. Clemson Professor Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post Clemson also fired assistant music professor Melvin Earl Villaver Jr. and asbestos program manager Robin Newberry for separate posts about Kirk.10Post and Courier. Timeline: Clemson, Alumni, Charlie Kirk Records
The Lawsuit and the Pressure Point
On October 3, 2025, the ACLU of South Carolina filed Bregy v. Board of Trustees of Clemson University (No. 8:25-cv-12810-JDA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Anderson Division.11ACLU of South Carolina. Bregy v. Clemson The complaint named the Board of Trustees, President James Clements, Board Chair Kim Wilkerson, Provost Robert Jones, and every individual trustee, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, in their individual and official capacities. It brought a First Amendment retaliation claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a wrongful discharge claim under a South Carolina statute prohibiting political firings, and it sought reinstatement, back pay, and compensatory and punitive damages.12ACLU of South Carolina. Bregy v. Clemson Complaint
The argument was that Clemson is a public university, Bregy spoke as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, and administrators had capitulated to what the complaint called “coercive tactics by state politicians.” The complaint also cited Clemson’s own adoption of the University of Chicago principles on freedom of expression.13ACLU of South Carolina. ACLU-SC Sues Clemson for Firing Faculty Member Who Criticized Charlie Kirk
Three days after filing, Bregy moved for a preliminary injunction ordering his immediate reinstatement. He argued the firing was causing irreparable harm by stalling his climate research and threatening his eligibility for a National Science Foundation CAREER grant that required an active university affiliation.14ACLU of South Carolina. Bregy v. Clemson Motion for Preliminary Injunction Clemson requested and received three extensions to respond, pushing its deadline from October 20 to January 5, 2026. On that same January 5 date, rather than filing a response defending the firing, the parties submitted the stipulation of dismissal.15CourtListener. Bregy v. Board of Trustees of Clemson University
What the Deal Did and Didn’t Resolve
The settlement resolves Bregy’s case only. It contains no admission of liability by Clemson and no judicial ruling on whether the firing violated the First Amendment. Because the lawsuit was dismissed rather than litigated to judgment, there is no court order the university is bound by beyond the terms of the agreement itself. Chaney framed the resolution as a deterrent; Clemson framed it, through its actions, as a private resolution that avoided a trial.
The other two Clemson employees fired over Kirk-related posts were not part of the deal. As of January 2026, both Villaver and Newberry remained terminated. Villaver had moved out of state, and it was unclear whether either intended to sue.16The Tiger. Villaver, Bregy, Newberry: Clemson University Firings Over Charlie Kirk
The financial shape of the Clemson deal also stands apart from at least one comparable case. Austin Peay State University in Tennessee settled with associate professor Darren Michael for $500,000 and issued a statement acknowledging that it had failed to follow its own tenure termination process.17WKRN. APSU Settles With Professor Fired Over Charlie Kirk Post Clemson’s agreement with Bregy involved no separately disclosed cash payment of that kind. What Bregy received instead was the erasure of the firing, salary he was already owed, a period free of duties, and letters of recommendation from the same provost who had signed his termination letter four months earlier.