Dr. Emily Taylor, a former English professor at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., is suing four South Carolina state lawmakers—Reps. Luke Rankin, Mark Willis, John McCravy, and Craig Gagnon—for allegedly threatening to cut state funding to the college unless she was fired. The lawsuit, filed with ACLU of South Carolina’s support, claims this was “unconstitutional jawboning” that violated her First Amendment rights by coercing her private employer.
Key Timeline and Details
- Sept. 11, 2025: Taylor publishes her essay “Dying to Be Men: American Masculinity as Death Cult” on the day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley State University. In it, she critiques ideologies of masculinity, expressing sympathy for Kirk while calling his views “hateful” and lamenting their impact on society and her children.
- Sept. 19, 2025: Rep. Rankin (from Laurens County) posts on X demanding her “immediate termination,” sparking public pressure.
- Sept. 30, 2025: Rankin and Laurens County delegation lawmakers send a letter to Presbyterian College’s president, threatening to block funds via the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission unless the college takes “decisive disciplinary action.”
- Dec. 18, 2025: Taylor resigns after over a decade at the college, where she also directed the Gender and Women’s Studies Program and wrote about S.C. politics.
Legal Claims and Context
Taylor argues the lawmakers’ actions chilled her speech and made reemployment difficult. She’s seeking back pay, lost benefits, damages, a court declaration that their conduct was unconstitutional, and an order to rescind the threats/letters.
This echoes a prior ACLU case (Bregy v. Clemson), where an assistant professor settled in January 2026 after losing his job over Kirk-related comments, allowing him to finish his term. The suit is in U.S. District Court, testing limits on lawmakers pressuring private institutions over faculty speech.
As a South Carolina resident keeping tabs on local news, this hits close to home—Presbyterian College is right in Clinton, and it involves Laurens County reps. Developments could ripple into higher ed funding debates here. Want updates on the case status or similar S.C. free speech issues?
