MAGA hat is free speech, says court in reviving threatened teacher's lawsuit

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A U.S. appeals court on Thursday revived a Washington middle school teacher's claim that a principal violated his free-speech rights by threatening discipline if he continued wearing a "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) hat to training sessions. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said there was no evidence that the teacher, Eric Dodge, had caused any actual disruption by bringing the hat supporting former President Donald Trump to teacher-only trainings at his Vancouver, Washington, school. The red baseball cap with white lettering became a ubiquitous and divisive symbol of Trump's 2016 campaign and his presidency. Dodge says the principal, Caroline Garrett, called him a racist and homophobe and told him he would need a union representative if he wore the hat to school again. The 9th Circuit, reversing a federal judge, said wearing the hat was speech protected by the U.S. Constitution and evidence that some faculty members were offended was not enough to override Dodge's free-speech rights. Dodge was a long-time teacher in the district when he brought the MAGA hat to trainings before the start of the 2019-2020 school year, according to the decision. Garrett told Dodge that other faculty members were offended and that if he did not stop bringing the hat to school, "you need to have your union rep."

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