Thomas Cannon v. Village of Bald Head Island

WYNN, Circuit Judge:

In August 2014, the Village of Bald Head Island, N.C. ("Bald Head"), fired Plaintiffs Thomas Cannon, Jesse Conner, Donald Koons, and Nicholas Terrell (collectively, the "Officers")-who worked for Bald Head's Department of Public Safety (the "Department")-for the content of messages the Officers sent in a private text-message chain. Approximately one year later, the Officers filed suit against Bald Head, its town manager Calvin Peck ("Peck"), and its director of public safety *494 Dr. Caroline Mitchell ("Mitchell," and collectively with Bald Head and Peck, "Defendants"),…