The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from two Michigan brothers who were barred from wearing sweatshirts bearing the conservative slogan “Let's Go Brandon,” a phrase widely used to mock former President Biden. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling that public schools can prohibit students from wearing clothing that contains vulgar or lewd political messages, even when expressed through euphemism.
The brothers, identified in court documents as D.A. and X.A., were in sixth and eighth grade at Tri County Middle School in central Michigan when they were told to remove the sweatshirts in 2022. Their mother filed a federal lawsuit in 2023, arguing that the school's ban violated the boys' First Amendment right to political expression. The family contends that the slogan is protected speech and that school officials overstepped by censoring it.
A federal district judge sided with the school district, ruling that the phrase could be considered vulgar and therefore subject to restriction. A divided panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision, with the majority writing: “In the schoolhouse, vulgarity trumps politics. And the protection for political speech doesn't give a student carte blanche to use vulgarity at school—even when that vulgarity is cloaked in innuendo or euphemism.”
In their petition to the Supreme Court, the students' lawyers argued that the 6th Circuit misapplied Bethel School District v. Fraser, the 1986 case that allows schools to punish lewd and vulgar speech. They pointed to a dissent by 6th Circuit Judge John Bush, who warned that the majority's reasoning “essentially gives school administrators boundless discretion” to silence political viewpoints they dislike.
“The Sixth Circuit's decision deepens confusion and disagreement in the lower courts on an issue affecting tens of millions of public school students: What political apparel does the First Amendment protect at school?” the petition stated.
The school district, however, maintained that the slogan's meaning is unmistakable—a euphemism for “F— Joe Biden”—and that schools have a legitimate interest in maintaining civility. In its brief, the district argued: “Fraser holds that school administrators can restrict speech touching on political topics when that speech is vulgar, profane, or lewd—even when expressed in euphemisms. A contrary rule would allow vulgar, lewd, and profane codewords to flood classrooms and would prevent schools from teaching students how to engage in political discussions with civility.”
The phrase “Let's Go Brandon” originated from a 2021 NASCAR broadcast in which a reporter misheard the crowd chanting an obscenity about Biden as “Let's Go Brandon.” The clip quickly went viral, and the slogan became a rallying cry for conservatives opposing the Biden administration.
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has sidestepped such disputes. Last year, the Court declined to review a case involving a Massachusetts student who was barred from wearing a shirt reading “There are only two genders.” The Court's ongoing refusal to weigh in leaves lower courts with conflicting standards on how far schools can go in regulating political speech that some view as vulgar.
The decision comes as the Supreme Court is already facing a packed docket, including high-profile clashes with the Trump administration. The Court's inaction on this case means that, for now, schools in Michigan and elsewhere can continue to enforce dress codes that target crude political messages.
