A border wall shirt suspension ended up costing a school $25,000 and an apology that was dragged out after the begrudged student filed a lawsuit in federal court in May, The Washington Post noted.
Addison Barnes, who graduated this year from Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon, was dismissed from his class and made to go home for wearing a shirt in January referencing Trump's proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
He claimed to have worn the shirt as a statement for his People and Politics class, where the topic of immigration was to be discussed.
However, an assistant principal felt the shirt, which read: "Donald J Trump Border Wall Construction Co.," as well as the quote "The wall just got 10 feet higher," would be offensive to other students and asked him to remove the shirt.
When Barnes refused, he was suspended.
In late May a district judge sided with Barnes, who said the school violated his First Amendment right to free speech, and issued a temporary restraining order preventing the school from stopping the shirt from being worn, The Washington Post said.
"Everyone knows that if a student wears an anti-Trump shirt to school, the teachers won't think twice about it," Barnes said Tuesday, according to CBS News. "But when I wore a pro-Trump shirt, I got suspended. That's not right."
The Hillsboro School District has opted to settle the case and agreed to pay Barnes' legal fees of $25,000, and issue him an apology.
"Please accept my apologies for charging you with a suspension," the school's principal, Greg Timmons, wrote to Barnes, according to The Washington Post. "Best wishes to you in the future."
However, the school district defended the action, noting that at least third of the high school's population is Hispanic and that the shirt "might cause other students to feel unsafe and could potentially lead to walkouts, altercations, or other disruptive actions."
Brad Benbrook, one of Barnes' attorneys, praised the student for his courage, KOIN-TV noted.
"The message on his shirt wasn't the point of this case. We brought the case to police the thought police," said Benbrook. "The First Amendment does not allow what is going on in too many schools today."
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