Mom sues Missouri school that suspended son, 13, for making rifle out of Dr. Pepper cans: This is unconscionable
A mom is suing a Missouri school for suspending her 13-year-old son after he arranged cans of Dr.Pepper in the shape of a rifle and posted a photo of the creation on Snapchat. “This is unconscionable—my son never hurt or threatened a single person,” Riley Grunden, the mother of the student, who is being called W.G., said in a statement released by Goldwater Institute, who is representing the 13-year-old. “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 added.“What happened to his First Amendment rights?”W.G.
posted a photo of the Dr.Pepper cans on Snapchat with audio titled “Ak47” which had a musical beat with a voiceover saying, “This is the famous AK47, with over 50 million manufactured in ten countries, the AK47 is the most popular assault rifle in the world.” After the post, which was made off of school grounds, W.G.’s belongings were searched on Sept.
16, 2024, and he was subsequently suspended by the Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District for three days. Grunden met with the superintendent and principal on Sept.17, 2024.The school allegedly made a permanent note on his school record that he had taken part in “cyberbullying.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lanna Tharp, Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District superintendent, said, “The School District is aware of the lawsuit that was recently filed.
Unfortunately, because the lawsuit involves a student, we are significantly limited in what we are legally permitted to share publicly.For now, we can only say that we have legal counsel, who will present our side of the story and defend against these allegations.”The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit on April 10, 2025, alleging that the Mountain View-Birch Tree R-III School District and school officials misinterpreted W.G.’s post “in order to justify punishing him for creative expressi...