An Oregon student who was suspended from school for wearing a pro-Trump shirt just won a major victory against his school district.
Addison Barnes, who attended the ironically-named Liberty High School, will receive a letter of apology from principal Greg Timmons.
The school district, Hillsboro School District, will also pay Barnes’ legal fees of $25,000.
“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. “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.”
A federal judge agreed, ruling that Barnes did have the right to wear a shirt affirming his political beliefs in a public school.
Mike McClane, one of Barnes’ lawyers–and also the Republican minority leader in the Oregon House of Representatives–praised the decision.
“Political speech, whether popular or not, is protected by the Constitution,” McLane said. “High school students have the right to express political views subject to restrictions that must be equally applied to all students. This case reinforced that proposition.”
