Mom sues Missouri school that suspended 13-year-old son for making rifle out of Dr. Pepper cans

A mom is suing a Missouri school for suspending her 13-year-old son after he arranged cans of Dr. Pepper in the shape of a rifle and posted a photo of the creation on Snapchat. 

"This is unconscionable—my son never hurt or threatened a single person," Riley Grunden, the mother of the student, who is being called W.G., said in a statement released by Goldwater Institute, who is representing the 13-year-old.  

"Instead of using common sense, our own school district treated my child like a criminal for arranging empty soda cans in a way they didn’t like," Grunden added.  "What happened to his First Amendment rights?"

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W.G. posted a photo of the Dr. Pepper cans on Snapchat with audio titled "Ak47" which had a musical beat with a voiceover saying, "This is the famous AK47, with over 50 million manufactured in ten countries, the AK47 is the most popular assault rifle in the world." 

After the post, which was made off of school grounds, W.G.'s belongings were searched on Sept. 16, 2024, and he was subsequently suspended by the Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District for three days. Grunden met with the superintendent and principal on Sept. 17, 2024.

The school allegedly made a permanent note on his school record that he had taken part in "cyberbullying." 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lanna Tharp, Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District superintendent, said, "The School District is aware of the lawsuit that was recently filed. Unfortunately, because the lawsuit involves a student, we are significantly limited in what we are legally permitted to share publicly. For now, we can only say that we have legal counsel, who will present our side of the story and defend against these allegations."

The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit on April 10, 2025, alleging that the Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District and school officials misinterpreted W.G.’s post "in order to justify punishing him for creative expression protected by the First Amendment." 

The Goldwater Institute maintains that because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., schools have a narrow amount of power to control speech that is made off-campus. 

They also highlight the Missouri’s Constitution's protections for free speech in Article I, Section 8, which gives a Missourian the right to "communicate whatever he will on any subject," which the Institute says makes "clear that creative expression like this soda can art project falls squarely within protected activity," in an April 15, 2025, post about the lawsuit. 

According to the lawsuit, Tharp allegedly said, "We have enough information to believe the video has caused fear to at least one student and understandably so. The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority, and we responded swiftly to address the concerns." 

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This despite Tharp also allegedly saying, "We want to inform you that we have become aware of a rumor circulating on social media regarding a potential threat. Following a thorough investigation, we have found no credible evidence of any danger."

The aim of the lawsuit is to clear W.G.'s record and prevent the school from taking further action against the student in regard to the Dr. Pepper cans photo. It also asks the court to declare the school district's actions unconstitutional. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Dave Roland, director of litigation and co-founder of the Freedom Center of Missouri, said that Goldwater Institute is "pursuing this case to turn the tide against a troubling national wave of schools overreaching their proper authority when it comes to policing and punishing off-campus student expression."

Through Goldwater’s American Freedom Network of pro bono attorneys, Dave Roland, director of litigation and co-founder of the Freedom Center of Missouri, Marc Ellinger and Stephanie Bell, partners at the Missouri-based firm Ellinger Bell, are representing W.G.

"From students suspended for posting memes to punishments for fictional creative writing, schools are increasingly treating ordinary adolescent communication as grounds for disciplinary action," Roland added. "The consequences extend far beyond individual cases - each unjust punishment sends a message to all students that their constitutional rights disappear the moment they log onto social media."