Michigan School Bans Students From Wearing 'Let's Go Brandon' Shirts
A middle school in Michigan prohibited students from wearing sweatshirts that donned the phrase "Let's Go Brandon."
Two students from the Tri-County Middle School have filed a lawsuit over the edict, citing viewpoint discrimination.
Fox News Digital reports the following details:
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) — self-described as "a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought" — are representing the Tri County Middle School students who sued the school district Tuesday for viewpoint discrimination after they were forced to remove sweatshirts they wore to school that featured the phrase "Let’s Go Brandon" in February 2022.
According to FIRE, an assistant principal and a teacher ordered the boys to remove their "LGB" sweatshirts. The AP said the slogan violated school dress code, but at the same time allowed students to wear "gay-pride-theme" apparel.
The district may defend barring the phrase on the basis that it prohibits the F-word from the dress code, and "Let's Go Brandon" is a humorous substitute for "F--- Joe Biden."
That said, FIRE attorney Conor Fitzpatrick says such a defense would not hold up in court:
"The slogan exists as a way to express an anti-Biden message without using profanity," Fitzpatrick said. "A public school district cannot censor speech just because it might cause someone to think about a swear word."
(Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Moreover, the school has banned students from supporting pro-Trump messaging before.
Recently, the district relaxed the dress code for a field day in which it allowed students to wear clothing that supported political messaging. But one student was not allowed to don his:
"A school administrator ordered a student to stop wearing a Trump flag as a cape, but permitted other students to wear gay pride flags in the same manner," according to a press release from the group.
The case draws parallels to Tinker v. Des Moines in 1969. There, the Supreme Court affirmed public school students' First Amendment right to wear black armbands to school protesting the Vietnam War.
The Supreme Court ruled that students "disagreeing with each other is not only 'an inevitable part of the process of attending school; it is also an important part of the educational process.'”
Allowing students to support gay pride and left-wing causes but not Donald Trump certainly challenges said Court ruling.
“These students should not only be allowed to express their political beliefs, but should be encouraged to do so,” said FIRE attorney Harrison Rosenthal.
“America’s students must be free to exercise their constitutional rights, not just learn about them.”
A left-wing school district in Michigan disagrees with that constitutional right.