“McCarthy-Inspired Show Trial,” Tina Certain’s Lawyer Sends Letter to Florida Education Commissioner

Gary S. Edinger, an attorney representing Alachua County School Board Vice-Chair Tina Certain, sent a letter Monday to Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas. 

After President Donald Trump spoke at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Certain made a comment on Facebook where she called the late Turning Point USA founder an “uneducated white boy,” and criticized the U.S. government’s elevation of his character following his death.

This led to Kamoutsas demanding for Certain appear at the State Board of Education meeting on Thursday. 

Edinger’s letter states the following:

Dear Commissioner Kamoutsas:

This office has the privilege of representing Tina Certain, the elected Vice Chair of the Alachua County School Board. We request that this statement and memorandum be submitted as part of the public record in connection with the November 13, 2025 State Board of Education meeting. This correspondence sets forth Ms. Certain's perspective on the upcoming meeting and will serve to supplement any statements she may give at that meeting.

It is important to note from the outset that the Board of Education does not have the authority to compel Ms. Certain's attendance at the November 13th meeting. The Board lacks the power to issue subpoenas' and is not authorized by statute to conduct investigations or adjudicate offenses.

Ms. Certain will appear at the hearing voluntarily to answer those questions which she deems prudent to address. She does so as an elected member of the Alachua County School Board, not as an employee of your Department and not as a subordinate official. 

Your October 2nd correspondence to Vice Chair Certain states that it will address ‘your social media comments regarding the late Charlie Kirk’ - presumably on the theory that those comments ‘raised concerns regarding your ability to serve as a school board member.’ Respectfully, that is not a proper subject of inquiry by the Department of Education.

It is undisputable that Ms. Certain's post appeared on her personal Facebook page. She made that post on her own time utilizing her personal computer. The post was a political comment concerning the recent assassination of a political activist: Charlie Kirk. While clearly a matter of public interest*, Ms. Certain's private post had nothing to with her responsibilities as a School Board member. Neither did the post reference or directly impact any fellow School Board members or any faculty, employees or students in the Alachua County School system.

There can be no question that Ms. Certain's Facebook comments are fully protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that all speech - even controversial or indelicate speech - is protected by the Constitution unless it falls within a very few, narrow categories of speech. But the Vice Chair's post was certainly not a true threat; it did not incite anyone to riot; it was not obscene; it was not defamatory; it was not associated with any crime and it was not treasonous.

While Ms. Certain's comments may have struck a political nerve and offended the blogosphere, that is the nature of political speech. Communications of this kind lie at the very core of our First Amendment protections. Indeed, protection of controversial speech is the very reason why we have and need a First Amendment. 

No credit or attention should be paid to those seeking to silence Ms. Certain's speech or those of countless other speakers who opposed Mr. Kirk's policies in life. The law does not tolerate a heckler's veto. 

Nor does the First Amendment tolerate the sort of viewpoint based discrimination voiced in your correspondence of October 2nd. It is noteworthy that your Department has not ‘requested the attendance’ any School Board members who have championed Charlie Kirk's political causes notwithstanding the fact that they are anathema to many Americans. It is inappropriate to seek to discipline or publicly shame another citizen for political viewpoints with which you and your colleagues appear to disagree.

Your correspondence suggests that Ms. Certain's private comments somehow impact her service as a member of the Alachua County School Board. But why should that be true? As noted, Ms. Certain was speaking as a private citizen on a matter that has nothing to do with the school system or her responsibilities as a School Board member. Neither is there the slightest evidence that her post caused disruption in the school system or interfered with the educational mission of our local schools. There have been no protests, no demonstrations, no strikes or walkouts, and no dissension among teachers in this district. Instead, Ms. Certain continues to enjoy the support of her colleagues and her constituents.

It is also appropriate to note that the Department of Education is the last agency which should seek to limit free speech. Censorship is antithetical to academic freedom and is a betrayal of the Department's mission to educate. Indeed, in the context of Florida's colleges, the Department has an affirmative duty to fight against censorship and encourage viewpoint diversity:

(19) Intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity assessment.--

(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term:

1. "Intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological and political perspectives.

(b) The State Board of Education shall require each Florida College System institution to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at that institution. The State Board of Education shall select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid survey to be used by each institution which considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom.

$1001.03, Fla.Stat.

Finally, it is appropriate to note that, whatever right the Department thinks it has to impose political orthodoxy among County School Boards, it has no authority to adjudicate or enforce any findings regarding constitutional rights. Constitutional issues of this kind are reserved to the Courts and state agencies have no jurisdiction to consider them.

During her tenure on the Alachua County School Board, Ms. Certain has been an active proponent of ensuring equal access to education with an emphasis on assisting the underprivileged members of our community. She will be pleased to discuss any policy issues impacting the Alachua County School system or the broader mission of educating our youth across this state. However, Ms. Certain has no interest in participating in Star Chamber proceedings or a McCarthy-inspired show trial. With those thoughts in mind, Vice Chair Certain anticipates a frank and fair discussion of school policies at the November 13th meeting.”