Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Colorado Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Student Who Posted Antisemitic Snapchat Content
by Dion J. Pierre
(Illustrative) Students graduating from a high school in Denver, Colorado in 2021. Photo: Reuters/Kevin Mohatt
A United States appeals court has ruled that a Colorado school’s expulsion of a student for posting an antisemitic Snapchat failed the “substantial disruption test” established by the Supreme Court to assess whether disciplinary measures for offensive speech violate the First Amendment.
The incident took place in 2019, when a student at Cherry Hill High School in the Denver metropolitan area — identified as “C.G.” — captioned a picture of his three friends wearing hats and wigs, “Me and the boys bout to exterminate the Jews.” He deleted the image and apologized hours later in another post, but it spread through the community and eventually appeared on the radar of the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States division, which alerted the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office determined that C.G. did not pose an immediate threat to the Jewish community, but school administrators suspended him for violating the school’s prohibition on verbally abusive speech, and following a hearing, expelled him for one year.
The boy’s family sued Cherry Hill School District, arguing that it violated his First Amendment rights. The case was dismissed in US District Court in August 2021 — prompting the recent appeal in which the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday struck down the previous court’s decision, ruling that “offensive, controversial speech can still be protected” and “these facts do not support a reasonable forecast of substantial disruption that would warrant dismissal of the complaint.”
“Moreover,” the court continued, “C.G.’s post did not include weapons, specific threats, or speech directed toward the school or its students.”
The 10th US Circuit Court based its ruling on Wednesday on Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., in which the Supreme Court ruled that school regulations of off-campus speech require sufficient “special interest,” and Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the landmark 1969 decision that created the substantial disruption test after several students were suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.
