JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”¹ So too, it seemed, for a house of worship in this case. Off-duty police made the mistake of involving themselves in that division, which is the genesis of this suit.

Inspirational Bible Church (“IBC”) faced declining membership and worsening finances after its pastor, plaintiff Victor Couzens, committed a publicized indiscretion. Leaders within the congregation organized a vote to oust him from his position. To enforce this decision, they hired off-duty police officers for the next Sunday service. At that gathering Couzens briefly took the pulpit, but officers threatened arrest, causing him to leave the church building. Couzens then sued the officers, their police chief, and the City of Forest Park (collectively, the “Forest Park Defendants”), as well as certain church leaders, alleging that they conspired to deny him his constitutional rights. The district court, however, granted summary judgment in defendants’ favor. We affirm.

Two young African American boys died after two City of Flint firefighters failed to properly sweep a burning house. Then-City Fire Chief, plaintiff Raymond Barton, tried to discharge the firefighters for gross misconduct, but Flint’s Mayor, defendant Sheldon Neeley, intervened and allegedly covered up the firefighters’ malfeasance to advance his support from the firefighters’ union in an upcoming election. When Chief Barton refused Mayor Neeley’s directives to cover up the malfeasance, Neeley fired Barton. In this lawsuit, Barton claims that his termination constitutes retaliation in violation of his First Amendment rights. The district court denied Neeley’s motion to dismiss on qualified-immunity grounds, spurring this interlocutory appeal. Because Barton plausibly pleaded a violation of his First Amendment rights, and it is clearly established that public employees cannot be compelled to make false, politically motivated statements on matters of public concern in response to threats of retaliation, we affirm the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to Neeley.