A former Lewis County employee who was fired in response to social media posts following the assassination of Charlie Kirk is suing the local government on the grounds that his firing violated his First Amendment rights to free expression.
Former Lewis County Deputy Coroner Paul Bromm filed a lawsuit in a federal court on Wednesday, April 15, against more than seven parties, including the City of Centralia, Lewis County and many local officials.
Lewis County fired Bromm from his job in the coroner's office and filed a “Brady letter” against him early last fall in response to images he posted on a personal Facebook account immediately after the assassination of Kirk. Brady letters are almost exclusively used for law enforcement and are meant to disclose conduct that might impact an officer's credibility before a judge or jury.
An agenda item in the Lewis County directors’ update meeting held by the Board of Commissioners Wednesday morning shows that the county plans to officially offer legal defense and indemnity to individual county officials or employees named in the case.
Draft language of the resolution shows the Board of Lewis County Commissioners plans to vote on the resolution during its business meeting on Tuesday, April 28.
Indemnity allows one party to offer another compensation for damages and, in this case, would be used to protect county employees from financial or other liabilities in the lawsuit.
In addition to the two local governments, the suit identifies five Lewis County officials — County Commissioner Sean Swope, Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer, Sheriff Robert Snaza and Coroner Warren McLeod — as defendants in the case.
The four individuals are already represented by Lewis County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David E. Bailey, who filed a notice of appearance on their behalf and that of the local government on Wednesday.
Bromm, represented by Lunde Legal, PLLC, out of University Place, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In the filing documents, Bromm identified the suit as a civil rights case concerning employment. The document officially cites 42 U.S. Code § 1938, which allows individuals to file civil action suits for deprivation of rights.
Under the description of cause for the lawsuit, Bromm and his representation wrote “First Amendment viewpoint discrimination and retaliatory termination of public employees by public officials.”
The filing document does not identify any specific financial demands, leaving the category as “to be decided,” but it does make clear that Bromm is requesting the trial come in front of a jury.
The suit also identifies one Centralia official, Police Chief Andy Caldwell, as a defendant, along with an undisclosed number of less than 10 government or corporate entities and less than 10 other individuals. The names of the additional defendants were not publicly disclosed in the documents filed earlier this month.
As previously reported by The Chronicle, Bromm posted images to his personal Facebook page making fun of the assassination of Charlie Kirk immediately after it happened Sept. 10, 2025.
The posts were composed of reshared images and memes making light of the Kirk assassination, with phrases such as “nice shot.”
Bromm faced public backlash in the month after making the posts, coming in part from Swope and state Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet. McEntire, who has in the past been criticized for inflammatory and aggressive posts on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, in his own post identified Bromm as a Lewis County employee, referred to him as a “disgusting person” and tagged Swope in the comment.
Swope went on to respond to the posts, confirming Bromm's identity as an employee of the Lewis County Coroner’s Office and encouraging others on the platform to report Bromm’s posts to his superior, McLeod.
In an immediate response to the backlash, McLeod recognized that individuals have the right to free speech but added that speech can still have consequences. Roughly a month after Kirk’s assassination, McLeod confirmed that Bromm had been terminated from his position, stating simply “he is no longer employed with this office,” and offering no further comment.
The Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office also commissioned a potential impact disclosure, more commonly known as a Brady letter, before Bromm’s official termination.
The letter stated that the posts by Bromm are evidence of possible bias against an identifiable group. The letter also addressed possible infringement of First Amendment rights, claiming that the letter does not violate the core right to free expression and echoes McLeod’s earlier comment.
“Without question, such speech is protected under the First Amendment,” the letter states. “However, in the exercise of freedom, there may also be consequences.”
For previous reporting by The Chronicle on Bromm’s termination from his job with Lewis County, visit https://tinyurl.com/5ah3am6z.
