Michigan school sued for banning ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ shirts

Two Michigan middle schoolers are suing their school district for barring them from wearing sweatshirts that say “Let’s Go Brandon” — a popular right-wing rally cry that stands as a substitute for cursing out President Biden.

The boys’ mother argued that the ban infringes on their constitutional rights, while the Tri County Area School District insists the sweatshirts violate its dress code, which bars clothing “with messages that are lewd, indecent, vulgar or profane,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

The lawsuit alleges that when the brothers wore their “Let’s Go Brandon” sweatshirts to Tri County Middle School last year, an assistant principal and teacher asked them to remove the garments and told one of the boys that “his sweatshirt was equivalent to the f-word.“

“Let’s Go Brandon” became a widespread conservative slogan in October 2021 when a TV reporter mistakenly claimed a NASCAR crowd was chanting “Let’s go Brandon” to celebrate a win by driver Brandon Brown — when they were actually yelling “F— Joe Biden.”

According to the lawsuit, 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.”

The school district stuck with its prohibition even after lawyers threatened litigation in a letter sent to administrators in May 2022.

“The commonly known meaning of the slogan ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ is intended to ridicule the president with profanity. At least one of the students … has acknowledged knowing what this slogan means and a simple Google search confirms the slogan means F*** Joe Biden,” the school’s attorney Kara T. Rozin wrote in a June 2022 response.

“Let’s Go Brandon” even has its own Wikipedia page, “which unequivocally confirms the slogan’s vulgar meaning,” Rozin noted.

The school’s lawyer further argued that the district “does not prohibit students from the right to express their political views or from wearing clothing with political slogans,” but the student dress code does not allow clothing containing language that is offensive, vulgar or profane.

The lawsuit was filed 10 months later by an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression on behalf of the mother and two brothers.

“Criticism of the president is core political speech protected by the First Amendment,” said attorney Conor Fitzpatrick, who filed the lawsuit Tuesday in US District Court in Grand Rapids. “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.”

Other students who wore Trump apparel to school were asked to remove it, while students wearing LGBTQ+ apparel were not, Fox 17 reported.

In a statement provided to the Detroit Free Press, the boys’ mother — whose identity is being protected by the lawyers — voiced her frustration with the school district.

“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,” she said.

The mother added: “I am proud of my sons for standing up for their First Amendment rights and the rights of students everywhere.”

The boys and their mother are seeking a court order blocking the school district’s ban on “Let’s Go Brandon” apparel, as well as apparel that’s “disruptive to the teaching and/or learning environment by calling undue attention to oneself.”

They are also seeking compensatory, nominal and punitive damages.