A high school teenager won a $95K settlement after a school accused her of vandalizing a rock with a tribute to Charlie Kirk and then painted over it.
Ardrey Kell High School student Gabby Stout said she got permission from officials for the tribute on a large rock at the school that students painted to support various causes.
‘Today’s settlement shows that students do have free speech rights, and school officials, when they overstep their bounds, can be held accountable.’
The design had a large red heart with the benign messages “Freedom 1776” and “Live Like Kirk — John 11:25.”
After she painted the innocuous tribute, the school officials apparently changed their minds, painted over it, and then accused her of vandalism. They also said there was an investigation under way and that law enforcement had been contacted.
Stout told Fox News she was shocked by the school’s actions.
“I was very intimidated and scared, as I had no idea what I did wrong or that I could be getting in trouble for simply sharing and expressing my views and beliefs,” she said.
Stout’s family was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom in court.
“The school’s paying a very substantial settlement here because it violated Gabby Stout’s constitutional rights,” ADF senior legal counsel Travis Barham said.
“They publicly accused Gabby of engaging in vandalism, of violating the school student code of conduct,” Barham added.
The school made the accusation in an email sent to the entire community. In the settlement, the school was forced to make another statement admitting the accusation was false.
“That’s exactly the kind of name‑clearing statement that we wanted to get from the school from the outset,” Barham said.
Barham had previously noted that the students were allowed to make other political statements on the rock, including one for the Black Lives Matter movement, without incident.
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The lawsuit also forced the school to adopt a formal student free speech policy in order to have a consistent policy about expression.
“Today’s settlement shows that students do have free speech rights, and school officials, when they overstep their bounds, can be held accountable,” Barham added.
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