James C. Wenzler v. United States Coast Guard

── James C. Wenzler v. United States Coast Guard ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-1896 JAMES C. WENZLER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES COAST GUARD and KEVIN E. LUNDAY, Defendants-Appellees. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. No. 3:23-cv-00170-jdp — James D. Peterson, Chief Judge. ____________________ ARGUED APRIL 8, 2026 — DECIDED JUNE 1, 2026 ____________________ Before SCUDDER, ST. EVE, and KOLAR, Circuit Judges. SCUDDER, Circuit Judge. James Wenzler posted a series of crass statements on LinkedIn while serving as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and depicting himself in uniform. The Auxiliary investigated, told him to stop, and removed him from its ranks after he failed to heed its warning. Wenzler sued in federal court, alleging that the Auxiliary violated his First Amendment right to free speech. The district court 2 No. 25-1896 disagreed and entered summary judgment for the Auxiliary. Seeing no error, we affirm. I James Wenzler joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2007. He held various positions over the years, eventually becom- ing a Vice Flotilla Commander. Wenzler publicized his affili- ation with the organization on LinkedIn. His profile depicted him in uniform and represented that he served as the Auxil- iary’s Branch Chief for Human Resources. In May 2022, a member of the public complained to the Auxiliary about Wenzler’s LinkedIn posts. One of the posts accused certain Supreme Court Justices of being racist, and another included a crude remark about the Girl Scouts. The Auxiliary’s investigation resulted in District Commo- dore Harvey Randall issuing Wenzler a letter of caution. The letter directed Wenzler to remove from social media any pho- tos of himself wearing his uniform and to delete any reference to positions in the Auxiliary. It also instructed Wenzler to con- firm compliance with the directive. Wenzler failed to comply. Indeed, on July 15, he emailed District Commodore Randall, stating, “I disagree with your fake Letter of Caution, and am going to file a complaint against you for your racist and bigoted action against me be- cause I am White. I find your behavior reprehensible.” Wenzler then stayed the course. In August 2022, the Aux- iliary found that his LinkedIn profile still depicted him in uni- form and listed him as a Branch Chief in the Human Re- sources Directorate. The Auxiliary also discovered additional insensitive and insulting posts. For example, Wenzler had quipped that the President-elect of Northwestern University, No. 25-1896 3 who had just been diagnosed with cancer, did a “horrible job” at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, her former em- ployer, and “end[ed] up with the physical results of what she was” there. A member of the public saw the post and reacted negatively, asking in the comments if the Auxiliary really had put Wenzler in charge of human resources—essentially ques- tioning whether he was fit to serve as a leader. When the Auxiliary followed up, Wenzler doubled down. He confirmed that he had no intention of adhering to the Aux- iliary’s social media directive. So the Auxiliary suspended him and began a formal disciplinary process, which resulted in the Coast Guard disenrolling Wenzler. After his administrative appeals failed, Wenzler turned to federal court. He claimed that by removing him from the Auxiliary, the Coast Guard retaliated against him for engag- ing in protected speech in violation of the First Amendment. The district court allowed his claim to