A high schooler in Oregon is standing for his right to wear a T-shirt supporting President Trump’s proposed border wall after a school administrator asked him to cover it up or go home.
Addison Barnes, 18, was a student at Liberty High School in Oregon when he was suspended for refusing to cover or change out of a t-shirt that said “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.” and “The Wall Just Got Ten Feet Taller.”
Barnes, who had worn the shirt for a politics class where immigration would be discussed, was told by his assistant principal to either cover up or go home, as some students and a teacher were offended by his shirt.
Assistant Principal Amanda Ryan-Fear reportedly pulled Barnes out of the class and told him to cover the shirt because it had offended a teacher and at least one other student, according to the court documents.
He initially covered the shirt but uncovered it a few minutes later. The administrator then sent a security guard to take Barnes out of class and bring him to her office.
Ryan-Fear reportedly told Barnes she could suspend him for “defiance” and gave him the choice to cover up the shirt for the rest of the day or go home.
Barnes decided to take the “suspension” and returned home. Although his absence was first marked as a suspension, the school later rescinded that from his permanent record.
Barnes decided to take his school to court to teach them a lesson about messing with a Trump supporter.
Now, Barnes is suing the school…
In a statement issued by his lawyers, Barnes said, “I brought this case to stand up for myself and other students who might be afraid to express their right-of-center views.”
More details of the lawsuit from AWM:
In the end, Barnes’s lawsuit won – but he didn’t receive any money. Instead, the school district settled with the attorneys representing the high school senior. The school district decided to pay $25,000 to cover Barnes’s attorney fees as well as have the school principal write an official apology to the student for asking him to cover up his shirt.
The Trump shirt was particularly offensive at Barnes’s school because one-third of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Many people in students’ families were deported because of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts that were heavily criticized during his single term in office.
The school district said, “Liberty High School administration believed they could reasonably forecast that Mr. Barnes’ shirt might cause other students to feel unsafe and could potentially lead to walkouts, altercations, or other disruptive actions. [School administrators] acted out of an abundance of caution on behalf of the student body to ensure safety.”
However, Barnes believes his victory helps solidify the strength of the first amendment.
He said, “Everyone knows that if a student wears an anti-Trump shirt to school, the teachers won’t think twice about it. But when I wore a pro-Trump shirt, I got suspended. That’s not right.”
In a statement, Brad Benbrook, one of Barnes’ attorneys, said, “Addison Barnes should be commended for his courage. The message on his shirt wasn’t the point of this case. We brought the case to police, the thought police. The First Amendment does not allow what is going on in too many schools today.”
Source: AWM