Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has apologized for his staff’s decision to report high school student Emma Sullivan’s insulting tweet to her school principal.
Last Monday, during a school trip to the State Capitol, Sullivan posted to her Twitter account: “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot[.]”
In fact, Sullivan never said a word to Brownback. But it didn’t stop the governor’s office from reporting the offending tweet to Sullivan’s principal, who ordered her to write letters of apology to multiple people, including Brownback.
Brownback now says he went too far. “My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize,” he told Yahoo! News. “Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms. I enjoyed speaking to the more than 100 students who participated in the Youth in Government Program at the Kansas Capitol. They are our future.”
