A Missouri school district is being sued for slapping a “cyberbully” label on a 13-year-old who shared a picture of Dr. Pepper cans in the shape of a rifle.
The incident took place in September, when the student, known as W.G., posted the photo to his private Snapchat account from his personal device while at home, according to Reason.
A lawsuit filed by Goldwater Institute’s American Freedom Network said, he was responding to a theme of “can art” and also attached an audio file with the words, “This is the famous AK-47, with over 50 million manufactured in ten countries, the AK-47 is the most popular assault rifle in the world.”
The next day, W.G.’s school principal called Riley Grunden to say her son would be searched before entering the school. On the day after the search, Grunden was hauled before the school’s principal, superintendent, and school resource officer.
The principal ruled that despite “no credible evidence of any danger,” the post “brought fear to other students” and could potentially be seen as a “terrorist threat.” The school then handed W.G. a three-day suspension and labeled him a cyberbully on his school record, even though he had no history of bullying or cyberbullying.
When I was his age some other kids I knew learned how to make a “soda can cannon” that could shoot projectiles and quite easily harm others. Don’t act like it’s nothing just because it’s made from soda cans. In my opinion, this kid was certainly a bully, or, if left unchecked, possibly even a terrorist.