A student at Ardrey Kell High School in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools recently won a legal settlement with the district after being accused of vandalism for creating a Charlie Kirk memorial on campus.
In the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk in 2025, a student in her junior year (referred to as “GS” in the lawsuit filed against the district) sought to honor Charlie Kirk through creating an on-campus memorial at Ardrey Kell High School.
The memorial, which was permitted by the district ahead of its creation, would consist of a patriotic message honoring Kirk painted onto the school’s “Spirit Rock.”
“Freedom 1776,” a heart, and “Live Like Kirk — John 11:25” were painted over the rock by GS and other students.
“She wanted to memorialize him, and she wanted to express a message of hope and faith and remind folks even though he had been killed, because he was Christian, he had hope for eternal life through Jesus Christ,” said Travis Barham, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) who is co-counsel to GS.
After painting the rock, the school, in retaliation, painted over the message and accused the student of vandalism. GS was eventually removed from class and asked to confirm that she was responsible for painting the rock. She was removed from a different class later, as officials “forced her to hand over her cell phone without parental consent, so they could examine her call history.” She was then subject to a criminal investigation.
GS sued the district in December for censorship and violating her constitutional rights which was settled this June.
According to ADF, “the board issued a public statement clearing the student of all wrongdoing and expressing ‘regret that the student had this experience,’ and to pay $95,000 in costs and attorneys’ fees.”
