(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Two middle school students in Michigan were forced by their teachers to remove sweatshirts with “Let’s Go Brandon” inscriptions, mocking President Joe Biden, which has led them to sue their school district.
“Let’s Go Brandon” emerged as a euphemism meaning “F— Joe Biden” after an NBC News reporter tried to cover up anti-Biden chants during a NASCAR race in 2021.
The two Tri County Middle School students were wearing “Let’s Go Brandon” sweatshirts in February but were told to take them off by teacher Wendy Bradford and Assistant Principal Andrew Buikema, The Daily Caller reported.
The case has been revealed publicly by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonprofit that represents the students.
According to the legal complaint filed on behalf of the middle schoolers, the school district claimed the “Let’s Go Brandon” clothing violated its policy banning “profane language” on students’ clothes.
The district argued that the phrase “is intended to ridicule the President with profanity.”
However, FIRE argues that the school authorities broke the students’ rights under the Constitution’s First Amendment.
“We expect our public schools to prepare students for the real world,” commented Conor Fitzpatrick, FIRE attorney.
“That means schools must prepare students for a life where their neighbors and leaders may not think, pray, or vote the same way they do. Being exposed to different views is something schools can and should encourage, not censor,” he elaborated.
The lawsuit also says that in June 2022, the school’s assistant principal, Buikema, forced a student to take down a Trump 2020 flag.
The student wore the Trump flag as a cape during an annual “field day,” allowing students to wear “non-traditional apparel.”
However, the same assistant principal did not order students wearing gay pride flags to remove them.
“Criticism of the president is core political speech protected by the First Amendment,” Fitzpatrick said in FIRE’s statement.
“Whether it’s a Biden sticker, ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ sweatshirt or gay pride T-shirt, schools can’t pick and choose which political beliefs students can express,” the lawyer argued.
The middle school students’ lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction that prevents the district from banning “Let’s Go Brandon” clothes and invalidates a policy prohibiting clothes “disruptive to the teaching and/or learning environment by calling undue attention to oneself.”
The students have also asked the court to rule that the school district’s policy violates the First and the Fourteenth Amendments.
Tri County Area School District refused to comment on the lawsuit.
