Oregon teen sues to wear pro-Trump border wall shirt (update)

BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN - 05/22/18 02:57 PM EDT

A high schooler in Oregon is suing his school for the 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.

The Oregonian reported that Addison Barnes, a senior at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Ore., is suing the Portland-area school, its principal and the Hillsboro School District, claiming the request violated his First Amendment rights.

The shirt in question reads "Border Wall Construction Co." and features Trump's signature along with the message, "The wall just got 10 feet taller."

Barnes is requesting an injunction blocking the district from enforcing school dress codes "in a manner inconsistent with" the First Amendment and an order allowing him to wear the shirt to his high school. He is also seeking an undisclosed amount of money in damages, according to the lawsuit.

The Hillsboro School District declined to comment to The Oregonian about the lawsuit.

The senior claims that he wore the shirt earlier this school year to his “People and Politics” class, during which students were going to discuss immigration.

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 went home, and his departure was initially marked as a suspension. A few days later, Barnes and his father met with Ryan-Fear and Liberty High School's principal, Greg Timmons, during which Barnes was told not to wear the shirt to school again or risk being suspended.

"The First Amendment protects students' right to speak on political or societal issues — including the right to express what school officials may consider unpopular or controversial opinions, or viewpoints that might make other students uncomfortable," the lawsuit states.

The filing also notes that another side of the immigration debate was permitted to be expressed in the school, with a teacher displaying a sign that read "Sanctuary City, Welcome Home" outside of the classroom.

"By muffling one side of the debate while allowing the other side to magnify their voice with a megaphone, Defendants' actions constitute viewpoint-based discrimination," the lawsuit reads.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...mp-border-wall

by Brock Simmons May 30, 2018

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-c...es-600x338.jpg

Federal Judge Michael Mosman granted a temporary restraining order that allows Addison Barnes to wear his “Border Wall Construction Co.” shirt to school. A senior at the ironically named Liberty High School, Barnes is now suing the school after he was suspended for wearing the shirt earlier in the year.

KATU reports:

A US District Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday, allowing a Hillsboro student to wear his pro-Border Wall T-shirt to school — for now at least.

Addison Barnes filed a lawsuit earlier this month, claiming officials at Liberty High School infringed on his constitutional rights by asking him to either leave class or cover up his T-shirt, which read: “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co. – The Wall Just Got 10 Feet Taller.”

Barnes wore the T-shirt earlier this year in a People and Politics class at Liberty High School in Hillsboro. He was taken out of his classroom by the school’s assistant principal, who told him his shirt offended at least one student and the teacher.

The boy was given a choice — either cover the shirt, or leave the school. He briefly covered the shirt and went back to class, but then, believing his First Amendment rights were being violated, uncovered the shirt.

The school’s assistant principal then sent a security guard to remove Barnes from class. His absence was counted as a suspension.

The school’s error is so egregious that even the ACLU is siding with the student, issuing this statement to KGW News:

“The school clearly crossed the line when it required a student to remove a T-shirt that voiced support for Donald Trump’s border wall or face a suspension. This shirt is mean spirited, but it isn’t a “disturbance” under First Amendment case law.

It is disappointing that Liberty High School decided to censor the student instead of inviting the student body to discuss immigration, the freedom of speech, and the impacts of xenophobic rhetoric. Schools have a responsibility to teach our youth how to engage in thoughtful conversations about difficult and potentially offensive subject matters. Censorship doesn’t work and often just elevates the subject the government is trying to silence.”

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-c...an_400x400.jpg
Amanda Ryan-Fear, the assistant principal who took issues with Addison Barnes’ pro Trump shirt, courtesy of her now-removed Twitter page.

Amanda Ryan-Fear, the Liberty High School assistant principal who ordered the school’s “security monitor” to escort Barnes out of class, submitted her “declaration” to the courts regarding the matter. In the declaration, she admits that other students have skipped classes to attend protests, stating “In May 2016, Liberty High School students participated in a walkout and sit-in at the high school in support of the state wide walkouts caused by the “Build a Wall” sign displayed by students at Forest Grove High School.“ and “In February 2017, approximately 200 Liberty High School students participated in a sit-in protesting the federal stance on immigration and their fears and concerns about the impact that it will have on themselves, their family members, and their friends.” She mentions no punishments for those students who blatantly violated school policies and possibly truancy laws.

It’s possible that Amanda Ryan-Fear, Principal Greg Timmons, and the school “security monitor” all committed the crime of Coercion. The statute, ORS 163.275, states that a person commits the crime of Coercion if the person “compels or induces another person to engage in conduct from which the other person has a legal right to abstain, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which the other person has a legal right to engage”, by means of instilling fear in the other person. Coercion is a Class C Felony in Oregon.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018...er-wall-shirt/

Student Wins $25,000 After Suspension for Wearing Trump “Border Wall Construction” T-Shirt

by Brock Simmons July 24, 2018

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-...41-600x337.jpg

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

Barnes is a student at the ironically named Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon, where he was kicked out of class and suspended for wearing a pro Trump shirt to class that read “Border Wall Construction Co. The Wall Just Got 10 Feet Taller.”

He filed a lawsuit in federal court, citing a violation of his 1st Amendment rights. One week after the suit was filed, the federal judge granted a temporary order stating that Barnes would be able to wear the shirt in school.

Today, the school district reached a settlement with Barnes in the amount of $25,000. Barnes will also receive a hand written apology letter from principal Greg Timmons.

The Oregonian reports:

Barnes’ lawyers said the message on the shirt wasn’t the point of the case. High school students have the right to express their political views, they said.

“We brought the case to police the thought police,” attorney Brad Benbrook said.

Hillsboro school district officials said Tuesday they were preparing a statement about the settlement and would release it later in the afternoon.

School officials had defended their actions in court, saying the shirt would contribute to a “hostile learning environment” and would make students feel insecure in school, noting that about 33 percent of the high school’s students are of Hispanic descent. They also said the school has been the site of recent student walkouts and sit-ins to protest Trump’s immigration policies.

The district described increased racial tensions arising from racially charged language around immigration, school officials said.

But U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman found the school district couldn’t justify its censorship. The judge said he balanced constitutionally protected speech with the orderly running of a school.

The school district is entitled to be concerned about the response of other students to the T-shirt, the judge said. But the “thin” court record offered little support for the district’s argument that the shirt could “substantially disrupt” the school, he said.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...shirt-covfefe/