Two Michigan public school students are suing their school district for being banned from wearing their "Let's Go Brandon" merchandise, alleging the school violated their First Amendment rights.
The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan after an assistant principal and teacher asked them to remove their shirts, claiming that their sweatshirts were "equivalent to the f-word."
The phrase "Let's Go, Brandon" rose to fame when a TV reporter mistakenly claimed a NASCAR crowd was chanting "Let's go, Brandon" to celebrate a win by driver Brandon Brown. However, they were actually yelling, "F*** Joe Biden."
The minors, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also claimed the school district forced them to remove a flag showing support for former President Trump during a June 2022 field day.
"Plaintiffs and other students are at constant risk of discipline for wearing attire expressing a political or social message which 'calls undue attention' to themselves, creating a substantial danger of chilling their core protected speech," the lawsuit reads.
The school argues that it does not prohibit students from expressing their political views or from wearing clothing with political slogans but instead bans them from wearing items that use profanity.
However, the students say that the slogan "conveys the same opposition to President Biden, sanitized to express the sentiment without using profanity or vulgarity" but is not "lewd, profane, indecent, vulgar or obscene."
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"Criticism of the president is core political speech protected by the First Amendment," said attorney Conor Fitzpatrick, who filed the lawsuit. "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 lawsuit also indicates that students were not asked to remove their LGBT-friendly attire.
One of the boy's mothers made a statement to the Detroit Free Press condemning the school for targeting her son over their opinions that the education board did not agree with.
"Instead of allowing my sons to express their beliefs to their classmates, school officials punished them. Instead of seeing political sweatshirts as a potential conversation starter between students, officials saw it as an opportunity to discriminate against opinions they didn't like," the mother said. "I am proud of my sons for standing up for their First Amendment rights and the rights of students everywhere."
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