South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson sent a letter to Clemson University on Monday morning (September 15, 2025) alerting the embattled institution that his office would not prosecute school officials under an antiquated statute which appears to criminalize the firing of employees for “political expression.”
Clemson is facing sustained outrage from conservatives and establish Republicans in South Carolina over its ongoing refusal to fire multiple employees who have engaged in speech which celebrates and encourages political violence. School officials believe they are prohibited from firing the employees by an antiquated state law.
The decades-old statute – first reported by FITSNews – is at odds with the Palmetto State’s right-to-work status. Meanwhile, Clemson’s broad interpretation of it appears to be at odds with subsequent court rulings significantly narrowing its scope.
As we reported last week, S.C. Code of Laws § 16-17-560 prohibits an employer from “discharg(ing) a citizen from employment or occupation” based on “political opinions or the exercise of political rights and privileges guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution and laws of the United States or by the Constitution and laws of this State.”