‘I want her gone’: Lawsuit claims retaliation against Schaumburg fire lieutenant over Charlie Kirk post

A Schaumburg fire lieutenant is suing village officials and the president of her union claiming her First Amendment rights were violated when she was suspended for social media posts about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Lt. Jenna Deriggi-Werdell of Elk Grove Village, a Schaumburg village employee since 2011, filed the six-count lawsuit late last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The suit names the village, village manager, Mayor Tom Dailly, the fire chief and fire union President Sam Parry as defendants.

The suit states she received a nine-shift suspension, later reduced to eight, for exercising her right to free speech on social media, and that the union ultimately declined to represent her grievance.

The complaint states that after Kirk’s killing on Sept. 10, she posted on her personal Facebook page, “I can choose to ‘not celebrate’ but also not be sad,” with a link to a New York Times article about the fatal shooting. She also posted an image of a quote attributed to Oscar Wilde that reads, “Some men improve the world only by leaving it.”

The lawsuit states her post “accurately conveyed her view that while she does not celebrate violence in any form, she is not sad that a man who spread political views that threatened her family and fundamental rights could no longer do so.”

The lawsuit notes that Kirk advocated against same-sex couples marrying and adopting children. Deriggi-Werdell is in a same-sex marriage and the couple has adopted children, according to the lawsuit.

The post appears to have been forwarded to village officials by a third party around Sept. 11, according to the suit.

The suit alleges the chain of events that led to Deriggi-Werdell’s suspension began with Dailly writing an email stating “there is no place” in the village for someone who expressed her views and that “I want her gone.”

Village Manager Brian Townsend and Fire Chief Fabio Puccini are named as defendants for facilitating the steps in the disciplinary process leading to the suspension.

While Schaumburg’s social media policy permits employees to exercise First Amendment rights, it states employees may be disciplined for speech deemed “unreasonably disruptive” or detrimental to the village’s image or operations, court documents state.

Parry is named as a defendant because the union withdrew its grievance despite indicating Deriggi-Werdell’s suspension was “not in line with the level of discipline issued to similarly situated individuals.” Parry also initially argued the village “violated” the union contract “by issuing Lt. Werdell an 8-day suspension,” according to the suit.

The lawsuit states the union’s decision ended her only means to challenge the unpaid suspension.

Schaumburg Village Attorney Lance Malina said the village intends to defend itself.

“The issue is not simply a First Amendment issue, but an employee conduct issue,” he said. “Obviously there was discipline involved. It was agreed to by the union. We will go forward.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for Deriggi-Werdell, as well as legal fees and other costs.