Settlement in Hillsboro HS border-wall T-shirt case

Two law firms — Benbrook Law Group of Sacramento and Lynch Conger McLane LLP of Bend — announced Tuesday the settlement of a lawsuit they filed on behalf of a Hillsboro high school student who sued the school district after he was disciplined for wearing a T-shirt to Liberty High School that supported President Trump’s proposal to build a border wall.

As alleged in the complaint, a Liberty High assistant principal removed student Addison Barnes from class and told him he could not wear the T-shirt because other students and a teacher were “offended” by it.

As further alleged in the suit, Liberty High School separately allowed one of its teachers to hang a sign in a different classroom that promoted so-called “sanctuary” cities.

On May 29, an Oregon federal court issued an order that prevented defendants from banning the shirt.

The school district and Barnes later reached an agreement that included a $25,000 payment from the district for Barnes’ attorney fees and a letter of apology from Liberty Principal Greg Timmons.

Barnes said in Tuesday’s news release: “I brought this case to stand up for myself and other students who might be afraid to express their right-of-center views. 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.”

Brad Benbrook, who argued the motion in court, added, “Addison Barnes should be commended for his courage. The message on his shirt wasn’t the point of this case. We brought the case to police the thought police. The First Amendment does not allow what is going on in too many schools today.”

Mike McLane, a partner with Lynch Conger McLane LLP, added: “Political speech, whether popular or not, is protected by the Constitution. 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.”