Fight for free speech: Liberty Justice Center sues North Carolina school board for wrongfully suspending student over question about ‘aliens needing green cards’

On May 7, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the Davidson County Board of Education on behalf of Christian McGhee, a 16-year-old student whose question about the word “aliens” in English class led to a harsh suspension and false accusations of racism by his own school.

On April 9, sophomore Christian McGhee raised his hand and asked his English teacher if her reference to the word “aliens” referred to “space aliens or illegal aliens requiring green cards.” Although there was no significant disruption to classes, the school decided to suspend Christian for three days, with administrators equating his question to a vicious racial slur. Christian was also banned from taking part in a season-defining track and field race. An appeal was not permitted.

After being branded a racist by his school, Christian’s return was met with ostracism, harassment and threats. Out of concern for his safety, his parents deregistered him and he is now completing the semester as part of a homeschooling program.

The Liberty Justice Center is suing the school board on behalf of Christian and his family for violating his rights to free speech, education and due process. The lawsuit argues that the school board had no legal justification to suspend Christian because his comment was protected speech under the First Amendment. The lawsuit also seeks to expunge the suspension from Christian’s academic records.

“Even though Christian asked a factual, non-threatening question — about a word being discussed in class — the school board branded him with false accusations of racism,” said Buck Dougherty, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “The school violated not only his constitutional right to free speech, but also his right to due process and his right to access to education, a guaranteed right under North Carolina law. We are proud to stand with Christian and his family in challenging this egregious violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”

“School officials fabricated a racist incident virtually out of thin air and branded our client a racist without even giving him an opportunity to appeal. “Fortunately, young people do not lose their First Amendment rights in school, and we look forward to defending the rights of Christians here,” said Dean McGee, educational freedom advocate at the Liberty Justice Center.

“I raised our son to reject racism in all its forms, but it is the school, not the Christian school, that brought race into this incident. It seems this administration would rather destroy their own reputation and that of my son than admit they made a mistake,” said Leah McGhee, Christian’s mother.

CM v. Davidson County Board of Education was filed on May 7, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

The legal documents of the Liberty Justice Center in CM v. Davidson County Board of Education are available here.

Raleigh-based attorneys Troy Shelton and Craig Schauer served as local attorneys to file the case in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.