Fired professor sues Emory after Charlie Kirk comments, alleges ‘jawboning’
She wrote “Good riddance” on a friend’s Facebook page after Charlie Kirk was assassinated last September. Emory University fired her.
Now Anna Kenney is suing the university for breach of contract and claiming she and Emory are victims of “jawboning,” a kind of governmental bullying that chills free speech.
Hundreds of Americans lost their jobs for comments related to Kirk’s death. Some filed lawsuits, including an Iowa schoolteacher and a Clemson University professor whose lawsuits were later settled.
Kenney was an associate professor in Atlanta researching pediatric brain cancer. After her comments about Kirk went viral, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter weighed in:
“ENOUGH. It’s time to stand up to dangerous, radical hate. Our federal government shouldn’t be sending hundreds of millions to places that employ people who say this. Either hate-filled professors like this are fired, or those funds are GONE.”
Emory launched an investigation of Kenney. Four days after Carter’s post on X, Kenney learned that she’d been fired. But Kenney’s termination letter gave other reasons for the dismissal. It said Kenney had not been forthcoming during the investigation.
“Your social media statements concerning the murder of another human being were inflammatory, inappropriate, and wholly inconsistent with Emory’s values and mission,” it said. “Your decision to make these statements in a public forum in which you also chose to identify yourself as a member of the Emory faculty has resulted in significant distress to our community and its members, and you have harmed the reputation of the University. Your actions have also incited others, thereby creating safety concerns.”
Kenney’s complaint, filed Wednesday in DeKalb County State Court, says Emory conducted a “pretextual investigation” and claims the university breached its contract with Kenney regarding a policy that protects professors’ right to open expression.
“The effect of Emory’s decision was to destroy a nearly 30-year career, chill academic freedom, and delay advancement in curing pediatric brain cancer,” the complaint said.
Emory stands by that decision.
“Anna Kenney violated Emory University policy and was terminated,” Emory spokesperson Laura Diamond wrote in response to an inquiry Friday from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Emory will defend this matter vigorously.”
Carter represents a coastal Georgia district in Congress. He is running for U.S. Senate. His office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
In January, he went after Emory again — this time over its employment of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, a physician at the Winship Cancer Institute. Her father was Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security. After the doctor and Emory parted ways, Carter’s office issued a statement that read, in part, “Good riddance.”
Larijani was killed in an airstrike in March. His daughter has left the U.S., according to an April news release from the State Department, which added that she and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, are barred from future entry.
Kenney’s lawsuit seemed to refer to the Ardeshir-Larijani incident. Attorney Andrew Canter confirmed the reference.
“As a further consequence of its decision, Emory was jawboned again in January 2026,” the complaint said. “It will continue to be bullied until it stands up to bad-faith actors targeting its faculty.”
The complaint cited a definition of jawboning from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech advocate based in Philadelphia. But FIRE’s lead counsel for government affairs said the concept applies more to the executive branch.
“It was a mistake for Rep. Carter to publicly threaten Emory’s funds,” Tyler Coward said in a phone interview. But it may not have been jawboning, he said, because “Buddy Carter alone doesn’t have the authority to withdraw funding from Emory University.”
Kenney is seeking “compensatory and special damages” from Emory in the suit. She politely declined a reporter’s text-message request Friday for a follow-up interview.
“Just working on my resume!” she wrote.
About the Author
Thomas Lake is a senior reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated and The Guardian. He's a co-founder of The Lake Family Band. Please email thomas.lake@ajc.com if you'd like to share a story idea.
