Students couldn’t wear ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ apparel, and now they sue Michigan district

Two students who say they were prohibited from wearing their anti-Joe Biden apparel to school have now sued their Michigan school district.

The students, who both attended Tri County Middle School at the time of the incidents, said in the lawsuit their First Amendment rights are being violated.

They hoped to wear their sweatshirts with the “Let’s Go Brandon” slogan to express their opposition of the president, according to details of the lawsuit filed Monday, April 25, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

The “Let’s Go Brandon” slogan became a cryptic way to insult Biden in 2021. The phrase has often been used by Republican officials and their supporters as a way to show their dislike for Biden without using profanity.

But at Tri County Middle School in Howard City, students could not wear the clothing because it is considered political speech, according to the lawsuit.

The district has not responded to the lawsuit.

The school is about 35 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.

‘Take that sweatshirt off’

In February 2022, one of the students, a sixth-grader at the time, wore the sweatshirt at the school but was stopped in between classes by Andrew Buikema, the school’s assistant principal.

Buikema told the student to remove his sweatshirt because the phrase on it “was equivalent to the F-word,” according to details of the lawsuit. The student complied with the assistant principal’s instruction, lawyers said.

He wore it again a few weeks later and a school official told the student the sweatshirt was “not permitted,” the lawsuit said.

“Take that sweatshirt off,” Wendy Bradford, a teacher at the school, told the student, his lawyers said. “I’ve told you before and won’t tell you again.”

The other student, who now attends Tri County High School, was pulled from class in May 2022 when he was wearing a sweatshirt with the same slogan, according to the lawsuit.

He was told by Buikema he could not wear the sweatshirt. He, like the first student, complied with the direction out of fear of being punished, the lawsuit said.

A separate student, who was not included in the lawsuit, was told he could not wear a Donald Trump flag they wore during the middle school’s field day in June 2022, according to the complaint.

“Tri County Area Schools and its employees are censoring students who try to express support for former President Donald Trump or opposition to President Joe Biden,” lawyers with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said in the lawsuit.

The students’ demands

The students have asked the court to allow them to wear their “Let’s Go Brandon” apparel and declare that the ban violates the First Amendment.

They have also asked for the school district’s dress code policy prohibiting clothing “disruptive to the teaching and/or learning environment by calling undue attention to oneself” to be declared in violation of the First and Fourteenth amendments.

Conor Fitzpatrick, an attorney with the foundation, said criticism of the president is protected by the First Amendment.

“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.,” Fitzpatrick said in a news release.

“The slogan exists as a way to express an anti-Biden message without using profanity,” he continued. “A public school district cannot censor speech just because it might cause someone to think about a swear word.”

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