Las Vegas father stunned after school compared son's pro-ICE stickers to burning cross
A Las Vegas family is suing the Clark County School District for viewpoint discrimination after their teenage son was expelled for posting stickers in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alleging students who walked out of class in protest of ICE faced no comparable punishment.
"He was definitely treated unfairly," George Crossman, the student's father, told Fox News Digital. "We did address that with the assistant principal and principal. And they claimed that was just a truancy issue... because they walked off the campus."
The federal lawsuit, filed May 14, alleges district officials violated the student's First Amendment rights and retaliated against him for engaging in protected political speech.
The student, identified in court filings only as N.C., attended East Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas. According to the lawsuit, students across the district participated in anti-ICE walkouts on Jan. 21, carrying signs and expressing opposition to federal immigration enforcement policies.
LAS VEGAS SCHOOL DISTRICT SUED FOR ALLEGEDLY EXPELLING STUDENT FOR PRO-ICE SIGNS DEEMED RACIST
N.C. told Fox News Digital that he and a friend decided to respond the following day by creating several small pro-ICE stickers featuring the school's Titans logo and slogans supporting immigration enforcement.
"We decided that, hey, we should make something to show our view that we support ICE," N.C. said.
According to the complaint, the stickers included phrases such as "ICE Immigration Enforcement," "Border Security Academy Deportation Force" and "Titans ICE." School administrators removed the stickers before classes began. N.C. said he was later pulled from class and questioned by Assistant Principal Thomas Smith, who allegedly told him some students could view the stickers as threatening.
The lawsuit claims Smith compared the stickers to a poster saying, "Let's go get whitey" and later compared them to a burning cross because the school's student population is majority Hispanic.
Crossman said he was stunned by the comparison.
"I was taken aback," he said. "I was like, what are you crazy?"
According to the complaint, administrators also searched N.C.'s school-issued Chromebook and reviewed searches that included "Dark Secrets of Martin Luther King," "The Martin Luther King Assassination," "James Earl Ray" and "Tough ICE pictures." The lawsuit alleges school officials concluded the searches constituted evidence of racism.
The complaint states N.C. was suspended and later was recommended for a limited expulsion for what school officials classified as a "racially motivated incident." The decision was upheld through multiple levels of administrative review. Crossman said the family eventually withdrew N.C. from the district because they believed the appeals process was stacked against them.
"We didn't feel that the accusations were correct and that they were one-sided. Every meeting was with school employees, school administration," Crossman said. "It was [him] against the school district."
Amanda Nalder, an attorney representing the family, argued the case centers on viewpoint discrimination.
"Children and students do not lose their fundamental rights at the schoolhouse gates," Nalder told Fox News Digital, citing the Supreme Court's 1969 decision in Tinker v. Des Moines.
"The Supreme Court has held that up for over 50 years, and unfortunately, CCSD has taken an opposing viewpoint to that law," she continued. "They believe that they can discriminate based on a viewpoint, and what they did here."
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Nalder also pointed to photos included in the lawsuit showing anti-ICE protesters carrying signs, including one that appeared to display a swastika.
"It's disgusting that the school district would allow students to carry a swastika," Nalder said. "But then you have a viewpoint on the opposing side... the child that was pro-law enforcement, pro-laws, is the one that is expelled and called a racist."
The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $15,000, removal of the expulsion from N.C.'s record and reinstatement in good standing.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Clark County School District said it does not comment on pending litigation but "recognizes and honors" students' First Amendment rights "to lawful advocacy and expression on causes important to them."