Addison Barnes loves to engage in combat. He therefore arrived at school wearing a clothing that was bound to anger others. The Liberty High School senior made the decision to go to class sporting a T-shirt that read “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.” During his brief tenure in office, former President Trump attempted to build a border wall, to which this was a reference.
However, Barnes’ school instructed him to cover up or go home and change since they didn’t like the clothing. They forced him to miss a day of school because he didn’t.
With the assistance of his parents, Barnes has subsequently recruited a group of attorneys to challenge the school’s ruling. By bringing a lawsuit against the school, he achieved this.
According to the lawsuit, Barnes was spoken to by a school official about his shirt after at least one kid and one instructor expressed their displeasure with it. The school advised him to cover up his T-shirt or go home and obtain a better outfit for class.
Barnes accepted the “suspension” and returned to his house. The school eventually removed the absence that was first noted as a penalty on his permanent record.
Barnes decided to sue his school in an effort to warn the students about interfering with Trump supporters.
In a statement made public by his attorneys, Barnes stated, “I brought this case to stand up for myself and other students who might be afraid to express their right-of-center views.”
Barnes prevailed in court, but he received no compensation. Instead, the school system and the high school senior’s attorneys came to an agreement. In addition to paying Barnes’ legal fees of $25,000, the school system decided to have the director send the student an official letter of apology for instructing him to cover his shirt.
The Trump shirt was particularly offensive at Barnes’ school because one-third of the children there are Hispanic. Trump’s attempts to halt immigration during his one term in office were roundly criticized and resulted in the deportation of numerous members of student families.
According to the school district, “the Liberty High School administration thought it was likely that Mr. Barnes’ shirt would make other students feel unsafe, which could lead to walkouts, fights, or other disruptive actions.” “[School administrators] exercised extreme caution in what they did to ensure the students’ safety.”
Barnes, though, believes that his victory strengthens the first amendment even more.
Everyone is aware that teachers won’t care if a child wears an anti-Trump shirt to school, the speaker said. However, I ran into difficulties after donning a Trump-supporting shirt.That’s incorrect.
“Addison Barnes should be praised for his courage,” said one of Barnes’ attorneys, Brad Benbrook, in a statement. The word on his shirt wasn’t the main focus of this case. We reported the incident to the thought police. Too many schools today are engaging in behavior that is prohibited by the First Amendment.
What do you think about this decision?
