North Carolina student wins $95K after school accused her of vandalizing spirit rock with Charlie Kirk tribute
A North Carolina high school student has reached a $95,000 settlement with her school district after she was publicly accused of vandalism and told she was under police investigation. The controversy revolved around painting a campus "spirit rock" with a Bible verse and patriotic message in tribute to the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Fox News Digital has learned that a settlement was reached this week between the family of Ardrey Kell High School student Gabby Stout and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. Under the terms of the agreement, the school board will adopt a new free speech policy, issue a public statement expressing regret, and pay $95,000 to Stout's legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The settlement comes six months after the Stouts filed a federal lawsuit alleging rampant violations of the student's First Amendment rights.
Stout told Fox News Digital the settlement ultimately clears her name.
"This settlement finally reinforces that I did nothing wrong, and the school system has to admit that publicly," she said. "After I got permission to paint a message sharing my faith in God, school officials accused me of vandalism in front of my whole school and my entire community. Then they put me through an unfair investigation. They never should have treated me this way, and by saying they regret that I had this experience, they are finally acknowledging that publicly."
The dispute began on September 12, 2025, two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a TPUSA event on Utah Valley University's campus. Stout decided to paint a patriotic message on the school's spirit rock to honor the slain conservative activist's outspoken faith. According to her complaint, Stout called the school's front office and received permission to paint the tribute, as long as it avoided profanity or vulgarity.
The following day, she and two friends painted a heart, an American flag and the words, "Freedom 1776" and "Live Like Kirk—John 11:25" on the rock. Within hours, school officials painted over the rock, according to the complaint. On September 14, Ardrey Kell Principal Susan Nichols sent out a school-wide message saying that the spirit rock had been vandalized with a message that was not authorized, that the student code of conduct had been violated and that law enforcement had been contacted to launch a criminal investigation.
Stout previously told Fox News Digital she was shocked and shaken by the message, but acknowledged to school officials that she had painted the rock, only to be pulled out of class and told she must write a statement admitting what she'd done and was ordered to hand over her cell phone so they could search her call logs.
The next day, the school district announced it was changing its speech policy regarding messages written on the rock, saying they must now be "inclusive," be in "good taste," reflect "positive school spirit" and not be political or religious.
Principal Nichols allegedly told Stout's mother the investigation into her daughter had been closed and she would not face any discipline, but the district refused to issue a public statement clearing the student's name.
About a month later, the school district sent a schoolwide message clarifying that the incident was not an act of vandalism, did not violate the student code of conduct and that law enforcement had not been contacted. However, the family said the school board refused to apologize and Stout was ostracized by classmates and faced online bullying and threats over the incident.
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The federal complaint, filed by ADF, asserted that the district weaponized a baseless criminal investigation to retaliate against Stout, violating her First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
According to the complaint, the incident reflected a double standard in how the school treated student speech. In 2020, students painted a pro-Black Lives Matter "Black Power" fist on the spirit rock. After other classmates painted over the message, the school board held an emergency meeting and allowed students to repaint the BLM message again, this time with more political messages, including, "No Justice. No Peace," "I can't breathe" and "End police brutality."
Stout told Fox News Digital she hopes the settlement will ensure the school protects students' constitutional rights.
"I hope they learn that students don't leave their faith or their free speech rights when they walk into school," she said. "I didn't do anything wrong, as they now admit. I was sharing a message I believe in, a message that inspired me, and a message that honored Charlie Kirk by pointing people to the hope for salvation through Jesus Christ. And they made me feel like a criminal for doing this. School officials can't just silence a student because they don't like what the student says or believes."
"I hope this settlement is a wake-up call, not just for my school, but for every school," she added. "And I hope it inspires and empowers students to express their views freely."
ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham commented, "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools should be ashamed at how it treated Gabby. She did everything right, and they did everything wrong. She got permission, and she painted an uplifting message of faith. They censored her speech, publicly denounced her, and then punished her for expressing her views. In this country, no student should ever be threatened, investigated, or publicly smeared for expressing her faith. Schools cannot pick and choose which viewpoints can be expressed on campus, and this settlement makes that crystal clear."
Under the agreement, the school board must issue a formal public statement within 15 days to finally clear Stout's record.
The mandatory statement reads, in part: "The students’ painting of the Ardrey Kell spirit rock on September 14, 2025, did not violate the Code of Student Conduct or other school system policies in place at the time. It was not an act of vandalism, and the school did not report the incident to law enforcement. The Board regrets that the student had this experience."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.