Appeals court rules in favor of teacher who wore MAGA hat to racial bias trainings

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A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Washington State teacher who wore a MAGA hat to his district’s pre-school year “racial bias and cultural sensitivity” trainings.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel said former Wy’east Middle School Principal Caroline Garrett had violated science teacher Eric Dodge’s constitutional rights in 2019 when she told him “Next time I see you with that hat, you need to have your union rep,” Education Week reports.

Dodge, who worked for the Evergreen School District for over 17 years, had been assigned to Wy’east Middle for the 2019-2020 school year, according to the court opinion.

The genesis of the imbroglio was Dodge “displaying” the hat “on top of his backpack” at the trainings. He never actually wore the hat during the sessions. The leader of one workshop, a professor from Washington State University, told Principal Garrett she felt “intimidated and traumatized” by the hat.

Garrett (pictured) allegedly asked Dodge “What is the fucking deal with your hat?” and informed him some felt the hat represented “hate and bigotry.”  She also called Dodge “a racist, a bigot, a homophobe, and a liar” according to a report from KATU.

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I am traumatized by this woman’s face. To me, she looks like someone that is a knee-jerk progressive, and those values, including letting people waltz over our border is threatening to me.

I want her canceled.

A teacher reportedly broke into tears while another felt “threatened.”