Supreme Court Declines to Revive Texas Student’s MAGA Suit
The Supreme Court rejected a request to revive a Texas studentโs lawsuit claiming he was bullied for supporting President Trump and for being white.
Brooks Warden, called B.W. in the initial suit because it was filed when he was a minor, claimed that a โyears-long campaign of bullying and harassmentโ ensued after he wore a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat on a school field trip.
He said he was made a target because of his race and political views, as a white male whose former school district is predominantly Hispanic.
โWhen his teachers and classmates at his predominantly Hispanic school found out that he was not only a white male but also a Trump supporter, it was open season,โ the petition reads.
He had asked the justices to let his 2020 lawsuit against Austin Independent School District, which he claimed failed to stop the alleged abuse, move forward after a divided federal appeals court affirmed a lower courtโs ruling throwing out the suit.
The question at hand was whether racial harassment lawsuits can be filed even when the โprimary impetusโ for the harassment was the challengerโs political views.
After a federal judge dismissed the case, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld that decision. However, after the full 5th Circuit court heard Wardenโs case, it split 9-9 over whether to revive the lawsuit. As a result, the dismissal was affirmed.
In a fiery dissent, 5th Circuit Judge James Ho wrote that โbeing white was absolutely oneโ of the reasons that Warden was bullied.
โItโs racist to characterize whites as racist,โ Ho wrote. โBecause itโs racist to attach any negative trait to a group of people based on their race.โ
The Austin school district wrote in its opposition to the petition that it โdoes not condone harassment or bullying of any kindโ and regrets Brooksโs experience โ but rejected the studentโs claims as political bluster.













