Linda Grubbs doesn鈥檛 recommend any educator do what she did.
After conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a college event in September, Grubbs hit the 鈥減ost鈥� button on a social media message about him and didn鈥檛 soften her opinion.
She labeled Kirk a racist, a misogynist and still said she considers him a Nazi who has played a part in radicalizing young American men into white nationalists who loathe women having agency apart from men. She still considers Kirk an apologist for violence against women.
She said swearing and lashing out online was wrong, however. She was fired as a Lake Dallas ISD classroom aide for the posts, and her young daughter lost her spot in what Grubbs describes as an exemplary prekindergarten program.
鈥淓very time I tell the story, it seems more stupid,鈥� Grubbs said. 鈥淚 was unprofessional, but educators are human. We make mistakes.鈥�
At a recent local fundraiser hosted to support her, Grubbs said she regrets being unprofessional.
鈥淚 think, on that day, everything compounded so bad, that I got online and I was like, 鈥業f you鈥檙e going to support this racist, misogynistic college groomer, for the love of Christ, delete me,鈥欌�� Grubbs said. 鈥淟ike, I was seeing people who I loved and trusted posting AI videos of him with Martin Luther King Jr.,鈥� she added.
Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, an organization best known for Kirk鈥檚 visits to college campuses where he would challenge students鈥� liberal and progressive political ideas. He was also a prolific podcaster who gained attention and wealth for provocative statements about race, gender, sexual orientation and identity. He promoted conservative Christianity and dismissed diversity in public life.
Grubbs said this school year marked a promising new start after a tough school year that dragged on her mental health. She has worked with children since she was a teenager and felt at home in the classroom, whether she was a substitute teacher or a classroom aide helping students learn new things.
She鈥檇 gotten therapy and medication for anxiety and was starting to hit her stride at work again. She wasn鈥檛 immune to the ongoing political turbulence dividing Americans.
When Kirk was murdered by a gunman in Utah in September, Grubbs said she recalled the mass casualty training public school employees are required to complete. Part of the training, she said, dealt explicitly with gun violence.
鈥淭he Stop the Bleed training 鈥� which is so beneficial, I鈥檓 not complaining about it 鈥� but it鈥檚 teaching you how to stuff bullet wounds in kids,鈥� Grubbs said. 鈥淵ou have a kid mannequin, and you just stuff it with gauze. I鈥檓 not complaining about it 鈥� everyone should know. But to picture yourself stuffing a child鈥檚 wound is a lot. There were teachers turning white. And it was sad.鈥�
When news of Kirk鈥檚 murder broke in real time, Grubbs remembered his solid support for Americans鈥� constitutional right to own and use guns, and his belief that some gun deaths are acceptable to preserve the Second Amendment. In fact, Kirk was challenging an audience member on mass shootings when he was fatally shot.
Grubbs said she typically doesn鈥檛 argue with people online, but when people pushed back, she went low. She said she posted some of Kirk鈥檚 most provocative quotes.
鈥淚 ended up arguing online,鈥� she said. 鈥淣inety percent of what I posted was direct Charlie Kirk quotes, because he said some of the most heinous, racist things I鈥檝e ever heard. But the things I said before I posted that are what ultimately bit me in the butt. And I regret posting them. Not because I got in trouble, but because never in a million years did I think that it would be used, and that, you know, people would see me and think, 鈥楾his is who she is.鈥� Because it鈥檚 not.鈥�
Grubbs said she was doxed locally and nationally.
Then, a parent complained to school officials and reported that Grubbs had celebrated Kirk鈥檚 death in her children鈥檚 classroom. Grubbs denies the allegation.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think you could ask everyone who was around me that day and they鈥檇 back me up.鈥�
Grubbs鈥� firing came as 鈥� a program that has typically been reserved for reviewing complaints against certified teachers accused of abuse and sexual misconduct 鈥� for public comments about Kirk.
On Sept. 12, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath released a statement reporting that the agency had fielded complaints that 鈥渟ome Texas public school educators have posted and/or shared reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk.鈥�
Morath said the posts could violate the . The code of ethics is broad and includes prohibitions against 鈥渦sing institutional or professional privileges for personal or partisan advantage鈥� and that educators be of 鈥済ood moral character and be worthy to instruct or supervise the youth of this state.鈥�
TEA officials said the division is reviewing complaints against educators who allegedly made or posted inappropriate comments related to Kirk after his murder. Morath said the agency will investigate the complaints to determine if the reported conduct violates state rules and warrants sanction.
The agency hasn鈥檛 made any statements about the investigations and didn鈥檛 say whether employees who aren鈥檛 in certified positions could be barred from future public school jobs as a result of public statements related to Kirk.
Grubbs isn鈥檛 a certified teacher. She has spent years working as a paraprofessional 鈥� a layer of educators who act as assistants to certified teachers.
Turning Point USA didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment by Friday afternoon.
Officials at Lake Dallas ISD declined to comment, even to confirm the length of Grubbs鈥� tenure. , however, indicates that Grubbs violated the district鈥檚 local code of conduct, specifically the policy governing personal use of electronic communications, which includes all social media platforms, text and emails, instant messaging, chatrooms and video-sharing sites.
鈥淎s role models for the district鈥檚 students, employees are responsible for their public conduct even when they are not acting as district employees,鈥� the policy states on Page 54. 鈥淓mployees will be held to the same professional standards in their public use of electronic communications as they are for any other public conduct. If an employee鈥檚 use of electronic communications interferes with the employee鈥檚 ability to effectively perform his or her job duties, the employee is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.鈥�
Grubbs doesn鈥檛 plan to return to the classroom. She鈥檚 pursuing a degree at the University of North Texas and is considering a career in higher education.
In the meantime, she鈥檚 doing odd jobs to make money. She said she has leaned on her husband for support and is spending time with her daughter.
鈥淚t was very hard for us as a family,鈥� Grubb said. 鈥淪o this [fundraiser] is to help with legal fees. After insurance was pulled out, I made about $500 a month. I make that through BioLife and selling my blood. I make more money walking dogs and selling my blood.鈥�