GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — A student who was expelled from Cherry Creek High School (CCHS) after sharing a photo with an anti-Semitic caption on Snapchat is suing the district, arguing that his free speech rights were violated.
The student, only identified in the lawsuit as C.G., was initially suspended and later expelled for one year on Oct. 21, 2019.
The lawsuit asks for an injunction that would immediately reinstate C.G. at a district school and asks for any disciplinary action to be rescinded and any mention of it to be expunged from his academic record. It also seeks monetary compensation.
His expulsion was the result of an image posted on Snapchat of three students posing in clothing at a thrift store about a month earlier. The caption on the photo reads, "Me and the boys bout to exterminate the Jews." According to CCHS, all three students pictured said they were unaware of the caption on the post.
The student admitted he made the post and apologized on social media that same night.
According to the lawsuit filed late last month in U.S. District Court, C.G. "intended the caption to be humorous and believed that it was 'so outrageous' that no one "could possibly take his words seriously."
The same night the post was made, a girl saw it and took a screenshot of it, according to the lawsuit. It was then shared widely among the Jewish community by her father, who also called police, the lawsuit says.
Investigators determined no crime had been committed, according to the lawsuit, but after learning about the negative reaction, C.G. posted an apology to his Snapchat, which says, "I'm sorry for that picture it was ment [sic] to be a joke."
On the Monday morning following the incident, C.G. was notified that he was suspended for five days. Later that same day, the principal of Cherry Creek High School sent a notice to the entire school making them aware of the incident.
That notice resulted in media coverage and additional parents complaining to the school, the lawsuit says. It also notes that just one parent pressed for disciplinary action and that the others hoped the incident could be used to promote tolerance.
In addition to arguing that C.G.'s post was a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment, that lawsuit says the post did not contain a specific threat and was made off-campus over a weekend. Since it did not happen on school grounds, they argued that the district policy used to support his expulsion did not apply.
The Cherry Creek School District released the following statement about the lawsuit:
“We dispute the allegations in the complaint and intend to vigorously defend against these claims.”
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