By Tom Ozimek

A North Carolina high school student and her parents have sued the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, alleging the district violated her constitutional rights after censoring a message she painted in tribute to assassinated conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

The student, identified as G.S., filed the complaint on Dec. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. According to the filing, she sought to honor Kirk and his public defense of the Christian faith by painting a message on the Ardrey Kell High School “spirit rock,” a long-standing forum for student expression. Two friends joined her after a school staff member allegedly granted permission.

“They painted the spirit rock with a heart, a United States flag, the message ‘Freedom 1776,’ and a tribute to Charlie Kirk: ‘Live Like Kirk—John 11:25.’ Then they placed flowers in a vase at the base of the spirit rock,” the complaint states.

Within hours, however, school officials ordered the message painted over and “censored,” the lawsuit alleges. The next day, administrators accused G.S. of vandalism, notified law enforcement, and said they were cooperating with a criminal investigation. Local news outlets reported the school’s statement.

According to the lawsuit, officials then pulled G.S. out of class, required her to write a statement about the incident, and compelled her to show them her phone logs—without securing parental consent or advising her of her right to remain silent or consult an attorney during a criminal inquiry.

The filing argues that Kirk’s assassination—widely described as the most high-profile political killing in the United States in decades—became a flashpoint within the school community. It claims that some district officials “made it quite clear that they did not respect him or mourn his assassination,” setting the tone for the school’s reaction to the student’s speech.

“G.S. and her family fully recognize that not everyone shares their admiration for Charlie Kirk,” the complaint says, “but they also recognize that G.S. has the constitutionally protected right to express her views in a forum Defendant’s officials created for student expression without those officials censoring her speech, launching bogus criminal investigations … with the obvious effect of chilling her and others from engaging in similar speech in the future, and imposing new viewpoint-based policies to restrict her speech in the future.”

The suit also notes that the district sent a school-wide message labeling the act as vandalism and stating that police were investigating. Days later, the district unveiled a new “Spirit Rock Speech Code” limiting messages to “positive school spirit” and those that “uphold inclusive values,” and explicitly barring religious or political expression. Officials later concluded no vandalism had occurred, closed the investigation, and issued a statement saying they had never accused or investigated the student—despite earlier communications, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges the district violated the student’s First Amendment rights by censoring and retaliating against her, imposed unconstitutional conditions on access to the spirit rock, ignored her Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections, and denied her due process and equal protection.

“No student should be censored, punished, and shamed by school officials simply for sharing her views,” said Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Travis Barham, whose organization represents the family in the lawsuit. “Charlie Kirk boldly defended open and respectful discourse on school grounds literally until his last breath, and this courage inspired many across the country, including the student who painted the message on Ardrey Kell High School’s spirit rock.”

Barham argued that school officials “illegally censored and threatened students for sharing a widely held message with which they happened to disagree.” He urged the court to hold school officials responsible for violating students’ constitutional rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and due process.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education did not respond to a request for comment.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley State University on Sept. 10. The suspect, Tyler Robinson, was arrested the following day and has not entered a plea. His next court date is Jan. 16, with arraignment set for Jan. 30.