A teacher who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat to school was engaging in constitutionally-protected free speech, a U.S. appeals court has ruled.
Eric Dodge, the teacher, wore the hat to two days of teacher trainings in 2019 at schools in Washington state, taking it off before entering the buildings but setting it near him.
Caroline Garrett, the principal of one of the schools, Wy’East Middle School, told Dodge on the first day to “use his better judgement.” On the second day, she allegedly said, “What is the [expletive] deal with you and your hat!” and called the teacher a racist and bigot before telling him to bring his union representative the next time they spoke….