Jennifer Courtemanche #

Introduction #

Jennifer Courtemanche is a former English teacher in Texas’s Goose Creek school district north of Galveston whose career ended after her social media reactions to the September 10, 2025, assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Replying online to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s contention that Kirk’s murder was politically motivated, she suggested Kirk might have “baited just ONE too many people.” Within hours, Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain published screenshots of her posts and demanded the district fire her. Her feeds flooded with abusive messages and death threats, and the Goose Creek school board terminated her contract within the week in a 2-0 vote. She was one of some 350 Texas teachers targeted for investigation over Kirk-related posts, settled with her district two months later for an undisclosed amount, resigned at the end of 2025, and retired from teaching.

Background Information #

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a close ally of President Donald Trump, was killed by a sniper on September 10, 2025, while taking part in one of his campus debates at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. In the hours after the shooting, thousands of people posted about the assassination, some denouncing it and others criticizing Kirk’s outspoken stances on gun violence and other political issues. Courtemanche was teaching English in the Goose Creek district and responded to Cox’s characterization of the murder as politically motivated. Two days after the shooting, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath directed school districts to report “instances of inappropriate content being shared” related to Kirk’s death and said the Texas Education Agency would investigate teachers and potentially revoke their licenses over the comments.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Courtemanche’s posts were replies and reposts about the killing, not classroom conduct. Replying to Cox, she wrote, “I’ll bet if the victim had been Black or Brown or a Democrat influencer he’d have been singing a different tune,” adding, “Could Kirk have baited just ONE too many people? Could this have been the consequences of his actions catching up with him?” She later reposted updates from a friend and from the partisan advocacy group Occupy Democrats, including lists of controversial Kirk quotes on gun violence and other issues, and a post denouncing the lack of Republican reaction to the politically motivated murder of Minnesota State House Speaker Melissa Hortman at her home less than three months earlier. Within hours of Kirk’s death, Cain — a Republican from Houston whose district includes Goose Creek — shared screenshots of Courtemanche’s posts and those of other educators via social media, explicitly calling for the district to fire her, writing “FIRE HER NOW!!”

What is documented. The termination of Courtemanche’s contract, the board vote, her resignation, and her settlement with the district are documented in Education Week’s reporting. Characterizations of her posts as inappropriate, and of the district’s conduct in firing her, reflect the positions of the parties as reported by Education Week, not adjudicated findings; she settled in lieu of suing for wrongful termination, so no court ruled on the dismissal. Education Week reported no arrests in connection with the threats against her.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The lawmaker’s amplification made her a target. Courtemanche’s social media feeds blew up with expletive-loaded comments and direct-message threats from as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia; one user posted more than 115 all-caps repetitions of “SHE DESERVES TO DIE.” In a 2-0 vote with four abstentions, the district terminated her contract within the week. She was one of some 350 Texas teachers targeted for investigations based on their social media reactions after Kirk’s death — an unusually broad state involvement in what is normally local discipline. The Texas AFT, the state teachers’ union, sued in federal court to block those investigations, arguing that with no definition or criteria for “inappropriate content,” teachers would be disciplined for political speech that had not caused the substantive disruption required under the Pickering test, chilling teachers’ free speech; a federal district judge threw out the suit in August 2026 without addressing the substance of those claims. Because the state’s ethics rules for teachers prohibit speech that incites “illegal conduct,” nearly all of the state-level complaints against teachers were ultimately dropped.

Current Status #

Courtemanche settled with the school board just two months later in lieu of suing for wrongful termination, for an undisclosed amount, and voluntarily resigned at the end of 2025. She retired rather than return to the classroom, though the settlement allowed her to keep her teaching license. The Texas AFT continued defending the two remaining teacher cases open for state investigation, and union president Zeph Capo called it “a win that 200-some-odd educators did not have to go through a lengthy process that could jeopardize their employment,” while warning that the probes could still consume a year or more of a teacher’s career.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Courtemanche kept her license but left the profession. She described dozens of threatening messages and voicemails — some urging her to kill herself, noting where she lives, or threatening to beat her up — and said she still could not prove who initially captured and promoted her post. She firmly rejected criticisms that she influenced her students: “You know, we [teachers] don’t have time to indoctrinate children,” she said, noting she “never spoke about my political beliefs or religious beliefs” and “stayed in the district’s [curriculum].” The experience “didn’t sour me on teaching,” she said. “If I could go back in the classroom, I would still be a good teacher. I loved all the kids that came through my classroom door.” No arrests in connection with the threats against her were reported in the coverage consulted.