In a reversal from a federal judge, a U.S. appeals court has ruled in favor of a former middle school science teacher in Vancouver, Washington.
The teacher, Eric Dodge, claimed his free-speech rights were violated when he was told he couldn’t wear a “Make America Great Again” hat to school after wearing it to two separate teacher-only events.
Dodge’s suit claimed that the middle school’s principal, Caroline Garrett, told him that if he were to wear the hat to school again, they would have a meeting and he would need a union representative. The claim also stated that Garrett, along with other employees, called him a “racist” and “homophobe.”
On Dec. 29, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — a historically liberal panel in the federal courts — ruled that while the hat may have caused offense to others, there was no evidence that Dodge had caused any disruption by wearing the MAGA hat to the school functions.
The panel determined that: “while some of the training attendees may have been outraged or offended by the plaintiff’s political expression, no evidence of actual or tangible disruption to school operations had been presented. That some may not like the political message being conveyed is par for the course and cannot itself be a basis for finding disruption of a kind that outweighs the speaker’s First Amendment rights.”
Dodge had initially filed an internal harassment complaint with the district, which was dismissed as “unsubstantiated.” He then appealed the lower court’s ruling.
The infamous MAGA hat has somehow become a symbol for the left of hatred and violence. Ironically, the left’s anger towards the hat has caused massive violence against MAGA patriots since former President Trump coined the phrase.
The ruling is a massive win in light of the slow removal of Americans’ First Amendment rights over the last few years.
When federal government officials, sworn to uphold and protect the constitution, coordinate top to bottom for wholesale violation of the First Amendment, what is the remedy? @elonmusk
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) December 29, 2022
The growing trend of censorship by the left is becoming more apparent and even more blunt as they attempt to deem any speech they don’t like as “dangerous.”
Recently, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) claimed that people who “espouse hate” were not protected by the First Amendment — a claim he is attempting to backtrack.
.@SenatorCardin: "If you espouse hate, if you espouse violence, you're not protected under the First Amendment. I think we can be more aggressive in the way that we handle that type of use of the internet." pic.twitter.com/TZIqA8ZipI
— The Hill (@thehill) December 29, 2022
