Student suspended for wearing banned pro-border wall shirt to receive $25,000 apology

Neetu Chandak, DCNF

An Oregon student who wore a banned pro-border wall shirt will receive an apology from the principal at Liberty High School and $25,000 from the Hillsboro School District to cover attorney fees.

The court reached a settlement where Liberty High School principal Greg Timmons will write an apology to 18-year old senior Addison Barnes after he was suspended for wearing a “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.” shirt on Jan. 19. The school district will also pay for legal fees, according to The Oregonian on Tuesday.

School officials initially justified the censorship, saying the shirt would contribute to a hostile learning environment. School officials also noted that 33 percent of the school population was Hispanic and racial tensions were high due to racially charged language surrounding immigration, The Oregonian reported.

Barnes sued the school in May for violating his First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman barred the school from enforcing its decision on banning the shirt in May as well.

While Mosman said the school was allowed to hold concerns about the reactions the shirt would elicit, he also believed in preserving constitutionally protected speech.

“I brought this case to stand up for myself and other students who might be afraid to express their right-of-center views,” Barnes said in a statement, according to The Oregonion. “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.”

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