TLDR:
- North Carolina student sued school district after her tribute to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was censored and investigated as vandalism despite prior approval
- Lawsuit highlights irony: Kirk defended free speech “until his last breath,” yet school officials painted over student’s homage featuring “Live Like Kirk” and a Bible verse
- School held emergency meeting to restore “Black Lives Matter” message when painted over in 2020, but immediately removed Kirk tribute and contacted law enforcement
- Case part of national debate with 600+ workers punished for Kirk-related posts and dozens of lawsuits filed over speech reprisals on both sides
A North Carolina student is suing her school district after officials censored her tribute to Charlie Kirk — a conservative activist known for defending free speech until his assassination in September.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education painted over a message honoring Mr. Kirk on Ardrey Kell High School’s “spirit rock” and launched a criminal investigation, despite the student receiving prior approval from a school employee, according to a lawsuit filed Dec. 8 in federal court.
“Charlie Kirk boldly defended open and respectful discourse on school grounds literally until his last breath, and this courage inspired many across the country,” said Travis Barham, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the student identified as G.S. “This situation goes beyond irony, however, as school officials illegally censored and threatened students for sharing a widely held message with which they happened to disagree.”
The lawsuit alleges a double standard, noting that in 2020 the school held an emergency meeting to restore a “Black Lives Matter” message when other students painted over it. But when G.S. painted a heart, American flag, “Freedom 1776,” and “Live Like Kirk — John 11:25” on the rock, Principal Susan Nichols called it “vandalism” and contacted law enforcement.
The district later implemented a policy banning religious and political statements on the rock.
Read more:
• ’Beyond irony’: Student files free-speech lawsuit after school paints over Charlie Kirk tribute
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
