t
he 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that wearing a “Make American Great Again” (MAGA) hat is protected as an expression of free speech rights.
The court issued the ruling in the case “Dodge v. Evergreen School District.”
The judges decided that a Washington middle school teacher was exercising his free speech rights while wearing his red MAGA hat at school training sessions.
Teacher Eric Dodge started to wear his MAGA hat to school meetings in 2019.
However, principal Caroline Garrett threatened disciplinary actions against Dodge if he continued to wear the hat.
Dodge claimed principal Garrett called him a racist and a homophobe for wearing the hat.
Garrett warned Dodge that he would “need to have your union rep” if he continued to wear the hat to school.
