(Creston) A high school English teacher from Creston, facing termination for a social-media comment regarding the killing of Charlie Kirk, is fighting back, citing a series of pro-Republican posts by the superintendent.
Teacher Melissa Crook has filed a lawsuit against the Creston Community School District, its superintendent and the school board, claiming her First Amendment rights are being violated and seeking an injunction blocking her dismissal.
As part of her lawsuit, Crook is citing numerous political and religious social-media posts allegedly made by Creston Community School District Superintendent Deron Stender over the past five years and by school board president Don Gee.
In some of the posts, the superintendent has allegedly questioned the rights of immigrants; voiced support for Republicans including President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa; referred to former Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican critic of Trump, as a “snake;” and called backers of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “snowflakes.”
Stender said Wednesday he cannot comment on his social-media posts, calling them a “personnel matter” that was handled by the school board. He also declined to comment on Crook’s lawsuit, calling it a separate personnel matter. Gee also declined to comment on either his posts or the lawsuit.
In her lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Crook, who has taught English for the Creston district since 2022, alleges she has been “subjected to retaliation, and is now threatened with the termination of her continuing-teaching contract, because of a private, off-duty comment on Facebook.”
Her Sept. 10, 2025, comment was made in response to a family member’s Facebook post about the shooting death of Kirk, a controversial, conservative political activist. The lawsuit states that “at her home, on her personal time, and using her personal Facebook account, Crook wrote, ‘He is a terrible human being … terrible. I do not wish death on anyone, but him not being here is a blessing.’”
Within a few hours, the lawsuit alleges, a conservative blog, the Iowa Standard, reported on Crook’s comment, identifying her by name and by her status as a public-school teacher working for the Creston district. The next morning, after seeing how others had perceived her original comment, Crook wrote on Facebook that she did “not wish anyone death” and apologized.
Later that morning, she issued a more extensive apology on her own Facebook page, stating: “I want to clarify a statement I made yesterday. I do NOT condone violence or the killing of people you disagree with politically or otherwise. That was never my intent. That is not who I am, nor what I believe. I believe strongly in the freedom of speech which also means I can disagree. I do not treat others poorly or wish them any harm because we do not agree … I am sorry I have offended people in this community believing that I condone killing others. I did not think he should be killed. After further review, I should have thought more about how I chose to post my thoughts, how it would sound. I take responsibility for the poor wording of my post.”
Also that day, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican, took to Facebook to post his thoughts on the matter, writing, “I have been made aware of social-media posts by teachers in Iowa praising the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This hate has no place in our state and certainly does not belong in our schools. My expectation is that each school district will follow the proper protocol to investigate these posts and reprimand the posters appropriately. Individuals with this depravity cannot continue to hold a position with any level of influence over our children. If appropriate action is not taken, you can trust that the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee will address this issue and take action to root out this hate from our schools.”
School district launches investigation of Crook
Two hours after Grassley commented, the lawsuit alleges, Stender, Creston’s superintendent, called Crook into a meeting and asked her multiple times about her meaning and intent in the use of the word “blessing.” At the conclusion of the meeting, the superintendent placed Crook on administrative leave pending the outcome of a district investigation.
Four days after the shooting, on Sept. 14, Stender allegedly issued a public statement that said, “I want to be clear: Personal views have no place in the instruction of our children,” adding that there was a law enforcement presence in the schools as a “precautionary measure.”
One day later, on Sept. 15, Stender allegedly called Crook into a meeting to report that the district’s investigation had concluded. Stender reported the district had received more than 111 emails and 140 telephone calls, with the vast majority of them asking for Crook’s firing or asking that their children be removed from her classroom.
According to the lawsuit, the report also alleged that Crook’s comment “resulted in the need to increase law enforcement presence out of fear for our students, staff, and school safety.”
On Sept. 25, Stender delivered to Crook a formal notice of his recommendation to terminate her teaching contract. The lawsuit alleges the notice claimed that her Facebook comment had “resulted in threats to safety of students and staff, causing a significant and adverse impact on district operations and the educational process.”
Crook then requested a hearing on the matter before the school board. According to the lawsuit, that hearing is now scheduled for Oct. 21, 2025.
Lawsuit cites posts by superintendent, board president
In one exhibit attached to her lawsuit, Crook includes a 43-page document displaying social-media posts allegedly written by Stender over the past several years, and notes that he “has made at least one Facebook post agreeing with Charlie Kirk.” The lawsuit also claims Stender and Gee, the school board president, have each “made at least one Facebook post or comment agreeing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asserting that in Florida, individuals have the right to hit other people with their cars” — a reference to DeSantis saying people, if they feel threatened, could drive over protesters.
The exhibit suggests Stender has made and shared political posts on a Twitter account he also used for school purposes, including content supporting Trump, Ernst and other Republicans; content condemning the “liberal media;” comments about “riots in liberal cities;” a post about supporters of former President Biden being “snowflakes;” and one comment stating, “if you don’t like America, leave with Bruce Springsteen and the other elites.”
Two separate posts attributed to Stender also called on Iowans to “vote for Ernst” and to “vote Ernst on November 3.”
In one of his alleged posts, Stender reminded district employees of an upcoming election and asked them to be “mindful of the boundaries of political expression during contract hours.”
The posts also include one from November 2020, allegedly from Stender to the district staff, in which he says, “I apologize if my personal tweets offended you, our students or the community.”
Crook’s lawsuit also includes as an exhibit social-media posts and shares by Gee, the school board president, that question “liberal” positions on free speech and contrasting the response to Kirk’s death, depicted by people in embraced in prayer, with the response to the death of George Floyd, depicted by burning buildings, looters and a person holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign. Floyd, who was Black, was killed by a white police officer in Minnesota who knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes while Floyd lay face down in the street. The officer was later convicted of murder.
Gee also is alleged to have posted an immigration-related comment condemning what he called “bull— left-wing judges,” and to have reposted a meme circulated by conservative musician Ted Nugent. The meme shows a smiling school student with the caption, “My teacher told me guns kill people … I told her my pencil failed my math exam.”
Lawsuit: Rumors of a threat not substantiated
The same day Stender notified Crook of his recommendation that she be fired, the lawsuit alleges, Crook’s union representative went to the Creston Police Department and Union County Sheriff’s Office to obtain copies of any law enforcement reports related to the district since Sept. 11, 2025.
According to the lawsuit, police officials were unable to find any reports related to the district and a representative of the sheriff’s office said that office received only one call related to a comment by a teacher and that call related to the East Union Community School District.
The sheriff also indicated that Stender had called his office to report rumors of possible violence that were investigated by the district and were determined to lack credibility, the lawsuit alleges.
“More than one employee noted that any disruption (in the schools) was caused by a lack of coverage for the work of the English department, and students asking when Ms. Crook would return,” the lawsuit claims. “Several employees noted the presence of law enforcement on campus as the only event akin to disruption and questioned the need for such presence given they were informed there was no actual threat.”
Crook’s lawsuit seeks punitive damages for violations of her First Amendment rights, as well as an injunction that would restrain the board from further action related to her placement on leave and pending termination.
The school district has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
