A high school student in North Carolina has filed a formal complaint after her school accused her of vandalism and involved law enforcement when she painted a memorial message for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on the campus “spirit rock.”
Gabby Stout, a junior at Ardrey Kell High School, filed the complaint on Monday. According to a report by Fox News, the filing states that she called the school’s front office on September 12 to ask permission to paint the spirit rock with a tribute to Kirk, who had been killed two days earlier. She was granted permission as long as the message did not include vulgar or political speech.
Stout says she and her friends proceeded to paint a heart and an American flag on the rock. They added “Freedom 1776” in honor of Kirk and wrote “Live Like Kirk—John 11:25.” They also signed their names. Hours later, school officials repainted the rock, and on September 14 the principal sent a message to the school claiming the rock had been painted with an unauthorized message. The principal called it vandalism, a violation of the student code of conduct, and said that law enforcement had been notified.
Stout emailed school officials acknowledging she had painted the rock but explaining she had permission. She says she was repeatedly pulled from class the following day, questioned in the principal’s office, instructed to write a statement about her actions, and told to hand over her cell phone to be searched.
“I was completely shocked,” Stout told Fox News. “I was very intimidated and scared as I had no idea what I did wrong or that I could be getting in trouble for simply sharing and expressing my views and beliefs.”
Shortly afterward, the district issued a revised Spirit Rock Speech Code that prohibited political or religious messages and required that messages reflect “positive school spirit,” “inclusive values,” and be in “good taste.” This came despite previous political messages being allowed on the rock. In 2020, students painted a pro-Black Lives Matter message on it.
Stout’s mother was then informed that the investigation was closed and no disciplinary action would be taken.
About a month later, the district sent an internal message to the high school to “clarify” the principal’s earlier announcement. The new message stated the painting “was not an act of vandalism,” “was not a violation of the student code of conduct,” and that “law enforcement was not contacted to conduct an investigation.”
Alliance Defending Freedom filed the complaint on behalf of Stout’s parents, arguing the school violated Stout’s First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The complaint calls on the school to publicly acknowledge what occurred and issue a formal apology.
