Judge recommends dismissing Clay County teacher misconduct case over Charlie Kirk post

A Florida judge recommended dismissing a misconduct case against Kelly Brock-Sanchez, an exceptional student education teacher at Ridgeview Elementary School in Clay County. Division of Administrative Hearings Judge Suzanne Van Wyk issued the ruling on October 21.

The case stemmed from a Facebook post Brock-Sanchez made on September 10, 2025, the day conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a gunman while speaking at a Utah college. She wrote: "This may not be the obituary. We [sic] were all hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me."

“Though someone decided to more broadly disseminate the post, Brock-Sanchez did not make that decision, and the consequences of posting to a public account cannot be attributed to her.”

The Department of Education sought to discipline Brock-Sanchez, potentially by revoking her teaching certificate. The agency argued the post appeared on a "public" Facebook page "for all the world to see."

Judge Van Wyk determined the account was private under the name "Kelly SteelMagnolia," with access controlled by the user and unavailable to the general public. She wrote that Brock-Sanchez did not decide to disseminate the post more broadly, so consequences of a public account cannot be attributed to her.

The post went viral after one of her 300 Facebook friends shared it widely on other pages. The school principal described the response as overwhelming, with more than 800 emails and 300 posts on the school's Facebook page, some threatening, plus numerous calls and voicemails.

Some teachers left school early that day after threatening messages and phone calls, according to the ruling. The judge's recommendation now moves forward in the administrative process regarding the teacher's case.