America First Legal filed a lawsuit against Colorado’s Cherry Creek School District and its senior administration officials after it fired an employee who said the United States is the “greatest country in the world.”
AFL’s client, Patrick Hogarty, a former Dean of Students at Campus Middle School in the school district, made the statement during a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training. According to the legal group, the school district “pressured him to embrace race-based ideologies and punished him when he refused to comply.”
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During a training session, Hagarty was asked what it means to be white and how he identifies. He said he “identifies as an American and believes the United States is the greatest country in the world,” AFL wrote.
The school district’s Equity Director said Hagarty’s statement contained “racist undertones.” The former dean was subsequently fired, with the district claiming “budgetary reasons” were behind his elimination.
“As alleged in the complaint, Cherry Creek School District blatantly violated the First Amendment rights of our client when they terminated him because his pride in the United States of America did not align with the district’s political ideology that America is a systemically racist nation,” AFL Senior Advisor Ian Prior said.
“Like other school districts across the country, Cherry Creek has replaced the Bill of Rights with the ‘DEI Manifesto,’ and teachers, students, and parents are being silenced for standing up for the values that make America great. We are proud to stand up for all teachers across America who are being unfairly persecuted for daring to challenge a government-sponsored orthodoxy that teaches hatred of America and seeks to marginalize people based on their viewpoints and the color of their skin.”
This article originally appeared on American Faith, and is reposted with permission.
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Charisma Staff