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The Baltimore County Public School system has allegedly suspended a high school student after he pushed his school to hang American flags in two of his classrooms that did not have flags displayed, as required by state law.
Parker Jensen, an 18-year-old Marine Corps enlistee, has since sued the school district, arguing he was wrongfully suspended for voicing his concerns about the flags at Towson High School, north of Baltimore. The flags were missing from two of his classrooms, and he approached the Baltimore Board of Education about the issue.
“He really thought there’d be something that could be resolved easily, and he was looking forward to finishing out his senior year,” Jensen’s attorney, Sarah Spitalnick, told Fox News Digital. “He’s definitely discouraged that the school took this route in the way they retaliated and punished him. And it did… put a big damper on his senior year. At this point, he’s still not allowed to go to prom. … He still has teachers that he knows do not like him. That could affect his grades and affect his ability to graduate.”
The issue began in February, when Jensen — also the quarterback and captain of the Towson High School football team — noticed that two of his classrooms were missing American flags despite the fact that Maryland state law mandates that flags need to be in all public school classrooms.
“Plaintiff received no hearing or opportunity to contest the suspension before it was imposed,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit further accused BCPS of retaliating against Jensen’s expression of his First Amendment rights, violating his 14th Amendment rights and defamation.
Jensen argues in the complaint that his high school has promoted T-shirts showing the LGBTQ pride flag and posted fliers showing “immigration support and resources” information, all while suspending Jensen for “demanding American flags in classrooms and the right to pledge allegiance, as required by Maryland law.”
“[H]e faced retaliation for championing the military and a secure border, and for defending Donald Trump, and Elon Musk. As this lawsuit details, Jensen’s school pushes every left-wing cause, while punishing him for honoring the American flag and expressing his right-wing viewpoint,” the complaint says.