Marilee Castillo #

Introduction #

Marilee Castillo is a former dispatch support employee at Grant Transit Authority (GTA), a public transit provider in Grant County, Washington. She was terminated on September 25, 2025, after a member of the public complained about Facebook posts she had written criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his September 10, 2025 killing. In May 2026 she filed a federal lawsuit alleging the agency fired her for protected speech; GTA has disputed that characterization in court. Her case drew coverage from regional news outlets including KXLY, KIRO Newsradio/MyNorthwest, and Source ONE News.

Background Information #

According to her lawsuit, Castillo began working for GTA in November 2024 as a coach operator and later moved into a dispatch support role. Her job involved supporting transit drivers before, during, and after their shifts and covering the front desk at the Multimodal Transit Center in Moses Lake. KXLY reported that she started at the agency in 2024.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University while speaking at a Turning Point USA event. Tyler Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder in the killing. After Kirk’s death, GTA lowered its flags in observance of a presidential proclamation.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

After GTA lowered its flags, Castillo posted on her personal Facebook account: “When a horrible trash-human dies and others talk about them as if they were wonderful, as opposed to the modern day Nazi that they were, what is that called?” In a reply to another Facebook user, she wrote: “We had to put our flags at half mast this evening. I said someone else can do it because I’m not touching the flag for him.” Both posts are quoted in her complaint.

Allegations. Castillo’s federal lawsuit, filed May 20, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against GTA and operations manager JoBeth Carlson, alleges she was fired in retaliation for protected speech on matters of public concern. GTA’s court response denies the termination was speech-related and cites policy violations without specifying which. The matter is a civil employment case; Castillo has faced no criminal charges. Her Facebook posts are quoted here from the complaint.

According to the complaint, Castillo had not been asked to lower GTA’s flags, her remark about the flag was made to a non-supervisory co-worker, and her Facebook page did not identify her as a GTA employee or name the agency as her employer. On or about September 12, 2025, a member of the public emailed GTA staff complaining about her social media activity while stating they would “still continue to use your services.” The agency investigated and learned Castillo had also discussed Kirk’s death with a co-worker; per the filing, no member of the public heard those workplace remarks and the co-worker did not independently complain. Castillo was terminated on September 25, 2025.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The public complaint prompted GTA’s investigation and, fifteen days after Kirk’s killing, Castillo’s dismissal. Her lawsuit alleges the termination letter “expressly considered and disregarded” her free speech rights. In a statement reported by MyNorthwest, Castillo said she was “motivated to write about Kirk online by my passions for justice and equality … When GTA weaponized its power to silence me, I knew I couldn’t let it go without a fight.”

When the suit was filed, GTA told KIRO Newsradio it had no comment, and KXLY reported the agency had not yet responded to the lawsuit. GTA later responded in court, denying the firing was speech-related while citing policy violations without identifying them — leaving the firing reason formally disputed between the parties. Source ONE News noted that the complaint’s allegations had not been tested in court.

Current Status #

Castillo’s lawsuit remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. It names GTA, Operations Manager JoBeth Carlson, and unnamed defendants, and seeks lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages for emotional distress, humiliation, and reputational harm, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and a jury trial. The core factual dispute — whether her dismissal was retaliation for protected Facebook speech, as she alleges, or a response to policy violations, as GTA’s court response maintains — has not been resolved. The case’s outcome will turn on whether her posts are treated as private citizen commentary or as conduct an agency may discipline.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Castillo lost the dispatch support position she had held since 2024, ending her transit career roughly ten months in. Her lawsuit claims the firing cost her wages and benefits and caused humiliation and distress; KXLY reported she says she suffered humiliation and distress due to the loss of her job. The litigation has made her a named party in a public First Amendment dispute over whether a public employer may terminate a worker over personal social media posts, and its resolution will shape both her professional future and the legal precedent she is seeking.