In the latest flashpoint over student speech rights and school overreach, a Missouri mother is suing her son’s school district after the 13-year-old was suspended for posting a photo of soda cans arranged in the shape of a rifle on Snapchat — a post made entirely off-campus and without any threats attached.
The controversy centers around a seemingly innocuous (if admittedly edgy) arrangement of Dr. Pepper cans in a formation resembling an AK-47. The photo was accompanied by audio describing the weapon, and according to the lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute, that was enough to prompt a three-day suspension, a search of the student’s belongings, and a permanent disciplinary mark on his school record — all without any evidence of a threat or plan to cause harm.
The student, referred to in the lawsuit as W.G., was suspended by the Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District after school officials caught wind of the Snapchat post on September 16, 2024. The image included a voiceover describing the AK-47 as “the most popular assault rifle in the world.” According to school officials, at least one student expressed fear after seeing the post.
But that’s where the story takes a hard constitutional turn.
W.G.’s mother, Riley Grunden, is suing the district with the help of the Goldwater Institute and Missouri’s Freedom Center, alleging that her son’s First Amendment rights were violated. “Instead of using common sense, our own school district treated my child like a criminal for arranging empty soda cans in a way they didn’t like,” Grunden said.
Goldwater attorneys argue that this case falls squarely within the protections of both the U.S. Constitution and Missouri’s own constitutional guarantees of free speech. They cite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., which limits the power of schools to regulate off-campus speech unless it causes a “substantial disruption” to the school environment.
“This is creative expression. Not a threat. Not bullying. Not incitement,” said Dave Roland, director of litigation at the Freedom Center. “Schools are increasingly treating ordinary adolescent communication as grounds for disciplinary action.”
That chilling trend, the lawsuit claims, sends a dangerous message: that student rights vanish once they open a social media app.
The school district, for its part, has responded cautiously. Superintendent Lanna Tharp acknowledged the lawsuit but cited legal restrictions on discussing student-related matters. However, Tharp is alleged in the complaint to have given conflicting signals, stating that there was “no credible evidence of danger”, even as she defended the decision to suspend W.G. because his post “caused fear to at least one student.”
That contradiction is now a key point of contention in a case that could set precedent — not just in Missouri, but nationwide.
