Kansas Lawmakers Sued After Push to Fire Analyst Over Facebook Post

A former Kansas education research analyst filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against three Republican legislators, alleging they violated her First Amendment rights after a Facebook comment she posted following the September 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Katie Allen was fired from her post at the Kansas State Department of Education five days after the comment was made.

The lawsuit names Senate President Ty Masterson, Sen. Brad Starnes, and Rep. Megan Steele. Allen's complaint alleges that these officials organized a campaign to pressure then-education commissioner Randy Watson into terminating her employment. According to the filing, Watson fired Allen on September 15, 2025, after receiving thousands of emails from constituents demanding her removal.

Allen previously sued the state agency and Watson for wrongful termination. That case is set for a jury trial on March 2. The current action, filed in federal court, seeks damages from the individual lawmakers involved in the public pressure campaign.

The dispute began on September 10, 2025, when Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. That afternoon, Allen commented "Well deserved" on a Facebook post quoting Kirk's 2023 remarks regarding gun deaths and the Second Amendment. The lawsuit states Allen deleted the comment before reaching her car that evening and posted an apology later that night, writing that she had acted in "an emotional moment" and had "quickly realized I didn't intend the meaning of the two words I wrote."

The following day, Masterson, Starnes, and Steele issued public calls for Watson to fire Allen. Masterson posted Allen's personal cellphone number on his official Senate President Facebook page and urged citizens to call her directly. The lawsuit alleges that Allen received death threats during this period, including an email titled "resign or die" that contained a graphic threat against her life. Masterson subsequently removed his September 11 and September 12 posts.

Starnes sent emails from his Senate account to Watson and a Kansas State Board of Education member requesting Allen's termination. Steele wrote to every member of the State Board of Education, calling Allen's comment "disgusting and inexcusable" and stating she "has no place working for the State of Kansas or any place near our children's education." On September 15, Watson called Allen and asked her to resign; when she declined and proposed a 30-day suspension instead, he fired her.

The lawsuit accuses Masterson of acting with "evil motive and intent or with reckless or callous indifference to Allen's First Amendment rights." Allen is represented by Overland Park attorneys Mark Dugan and Heather Schlozman. Campaign finance records show Dugan donated $400 to Democrat Cindy Holscher's gubernatorial campaign.

Garrett Henson, a spokesman for Masterson's campaign, disputed the merits of the filing. "Two weeks before an election, a lawyer who donates to Cindy Holscher filed a lawsuit to try to help her campaign. That tells you what this is," Henson said. He added that Masterson's position remains that "no one should be celebrating political violence." Holscher's campaign declined to comment on the litigation.

Allen remains a member of the Manhattan-Ogden school board, where she continues to serve. Starnes holds a four-year Senate term, while Steele is running unopposed for her House seat; both represent districts that include the Manhattan-Ogden schools.