Mountain States Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit against Harrison School District 2, representing 7th-grade student Jaiden Rodriguez in his fight to protect his First Amendment-protected right to free speech. Jaiden’s story has reached national headlines, and the case has been covered by numerous respectable outlets. It is a sure sign that the right to express oneself is still important and relevant to Americans!
Boy who stood up for Gadsden flag files free-speech lawsuit against school district—The Washington Times
Jaiden Rodriguez doesn’t want his Colorado school district to tread on his Gadsden flag or his gun-rights patches.
The 12-year-old middle schooler filed late Monday a federal lawsuit against the Harrison School District 2 and the Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, arguing that the dress code policy banning his backpack badges violates his free-speech rights.
Harrison District 2, Vanguard charter school face lawsuit—The Gazette
A junior high student at The Vanguard School, a charter school in Harrison School District 2, is suing his school district over its policy over whether he can wear a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack.
Mountain States Legal Foundation, along with the 12-year-old student and his mother, announced Tuesday that they would be seeking an injunction of the school district’s policy which would ban a student from displaying the Gadsden flag.
Vanguard charter school faces lawsuit over Gadsden flag—FOX21 News
A 7th-grade student at The Vanguard School, a charter school in Harrison School District 2, is suing the Colorado Springs district over its policy on whether he can wear a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack.
Back in August, FOX21 reported on a viral video showing a representative from the school claiming the Gadsden flag has origins in slavery and that the patch is against district policy. The user who posted the video, Connor Boyack, said Jaden Rodriguez was kicked out of class at The Vanguard School for having a Gadsden flag patch.
“This isn’t the only time that the schools have censored Jaden’s speech,” James Kerwin, Senior Attorney at the Mountain States Legal Foundation explained.
Colorado Springs school district facing federal lawsuit after backlash over a student’s backpack patches—KKTV
A lawyer representing the Rodriguez family tells 11 News they are seeking a policy change from the district. Saying kids like 12-year-old Jaiden Rodriguez should be able to freely express themselves under their First Amendment rights.
“I fly it because I am proud to be an American,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t hate America I’m a patriot of our country.”
Gadsden flag kid slaps Colorado school district with lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations—Western Journal
The Colorado School district that wanted to ban a student from wearing a Gadsden Flag patch on his bookbag is now the target of a federal lawsuit for its handling of the situation.
In August, Jaiden Rodriguez came under fire at the Vanguard School, part of Harrison School District 2 in Colorado Springs, when the school banned the flag patch before relenting as it became the focus of national attention.
Interview with Frontier Freedom Hour
In this episode of the Frontier Freedom Hour, Jeff Hunt interviews James Kerwin, senior counsel at Mountain States Legal Foundation, about the First Amendment violations in a school district case involving Jaden Rodriguez, also known as the Gadsden Flag kid.
Gadsden flag kid sues school and its officials for violating his first amendment rights—Behind the Black
In August 2023 the Vanguard School in Colorado Springs demanded that 12-year-old Jaiden Rodriguez remove patches on his daypack showing the Gadsden flag as well as some funny Pac-men holding guns or he would be banned from classes. Jaiden refused, and the resulting uproar — forcing the cancellation of a scheduled parents night — caused school officials to quickly back down and give Jaiden permission to attend classes with the daypack and Gadsden flag patch.
