Colorado middle schooler allegedly kicked out of class over Gadsden flag: 'Attack on his freedom of speech'

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CITC) — A Colorado middle schooler was allegedly kicked out of class this week over several patches on his backpack, including one of the Gadsden flag.

Jaiden, a 12-year-old student at The Vanguard School, was removed by school administrators Monday, according to a video shared on social media by writer Connor Boyack. In the video, an administrator can be heard blaming the depiction of the Gadsden flag on Jaiden's backpack for the action.

The Gadsden flag, designed during the late 1700s, features a yellow field and timber rattlesnake. Below the rattlesnake is the phrase "DON'T TREAD ON ME," meant to reference the United States' fight for independence during the Revolutionary War.

"The reason that they do not want the flag, the reason we do not want the flag displayed is due to its origins with slavery and slave trade," the administrator can be heard telling Jaiden and his mother in the video.

"What's going to happen if he doesn't take it off?" Jaiden's mother can be heard asking.

"I asked, can he just take his stuff out of his bag and go back to class, like I just want him to go back to class, the bag can't go back if it's got the patch on it because we can't have that in and around other kids," the administrator responds.

The mother then calls the school's approach "one-sided" as Jaiden claims that other students have been permitted to display various patches.

Jaiden's backpack also displayed depictions of weapons, violating the school's dress code, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. There is no discussion of such depictions in the video shared by Boyack.

In additional social media posts, Boyack shared an email allegedly written by Jeff Yocum, the operations director at The Vanguard School. In the email, articles are provided to argue that the Gadsden flag is "tied to the Confederate flag and other white-supremacy groups."

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After learning of the incident, The Vanguard School's Board of Directors allegedly held an emergency meeting. The board then allegedly chose to allow Jaiden to return to school with the Gadsden flag still visible on his backpack, calling the incident "an occasion for us to reaffirm our deep commitment to a classical education," according to another email obtained by Boyack.

Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) reached out to The Vanguard School to confirm all the details of the alleged incident, but did not immediately receive a response.

The viral video caught the attention of Colorado politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Gov. Jared Polis.

"Obviously the Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution and a[n] iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans," Polis, a Democrat, wrote on social media. "It’s a great teaching moment for a history lesson!"

"This is a direct attack on his freedom of speech," Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said of the matter. "Our education system has a deep-rooted problem with liberal bias."

In 2014, a U.S. Postal Service worker in Denver filed a complaint over a colleague wearing a hat featuring the Gadsden flag, calling it "racially offensive."

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ultimately ruled that the Gadsden flag originated in "a non-racial context." However, the agency also acknowledged that the symbol is "sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts."