Joshua Duncan #

Introduction #

Joshua Duncan is an American high school biology teacher who taught at Russellville High School in the Russellville School District in Russellville, Arkansas, until the district fired him in the fall of 2025 over a post on his personal Facebook page that alluded to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In July 2026, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit on his behalf accusing the district of violating his First Amendment rights and asking a judge to order the district to reinstate him. Duncan’s case is one of several filed in federal courts across the country by Americans who were disciplined or lost their jobs because of comments criticizing or mocking Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, after he was shot and killed while speaking at a college campus in Utah.

Background Information #

Duncan taught biology at Russellville High School until his termination in the fall of 2025. The post at the center of his firing was, by the lawsuit’s account, small in reach: it appeared on his personal Facebook page the day of Kirk’s death and was only viewable by the roughly 1,200 people he was friends with on the platform. According to the complaint, it remained online for less than 12 hours before Duncan decided to delete it. Kirk’s death instantly became an online flashpoint in a year that had already seen several acts of political violence, including the assassination and attempted assassination of two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

The complaint filed in federal district court says that Duncan was fired after he posted on his personal Facebook page the day of Kirk’s death a quote attributed to the late criminal defense attorney Clarence Darrow, which read: “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” In addition to the quote, the complaint said, Duncan commented on the post: “Just seemed fitting today.” The lawsuit says he deleted the post of his own volition before he went to work and before he knew it had been screenshotted and spread around.

Duncan was put on administrative leave, and two weeks later the Russellville school board fired him on September 25, 2025, for violating school policies involving social media. According to the complaint, Superintendent Luke Lovins “specifically pointed to Mr. Duncan’s post about Charlie Kirk and otherwise made it clear that the post was the reason for the recommended termination.”

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The firing itself drew its response through the courts rather than through any public defense from the district: in an email, Lovins said the district wouldn’t comment on pending litigation. The ACLU of Arkansas, announcing the lawsuit, was careful to separate the case from the content of the post, writing in a statement: “The ACLU of Arkansas condemns political violence in all forms. There is no place for violence in our democracy.” “But the First Amendment protects a wide range of political expression, including speech that others may find controversial or offensive,” the organization added. “Government officials cannot punish people for exercising those rights.”

The lawsuit positioned Duncan alongside other public employees nationally who lost their jobs over posts or comments about Kirk, several of whom have received settlements as a result of those suits.

Current Status #

Duncan’s lawsuit is pending in federal district court, where it asks a judge to order the Russellville School District to reinstate him. The complaint alleges Duncan has faced “ongoing harm stemming from his termination,” citing both difficulties obtaining new, equivalent employment and a complaint Lovins submitted about the post to the Arkansas Department of Education Professional Licensure Standards Board. The district, for its part, has said only that it will not comment on pending litigation.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Duncan has been out of the classroom since September 2025, and nearly a year after his firing his lawsuit says he still has not found new, equivalent employment. The licensure complaint filed by the superintendent with the state’s Professional Licensure Standards Board adds a second, longer-lasting risk: even if the lawsuit fails or succeeds, his teaching credential is now in question because of a Facebook post that lasted less than 12 hours. Nationally, his case has become part of a wave of First Amendment litigation over Kirk-related firings, several of which have already ended in settlements for the employees who lost their jobs.