Deemed a “trespasser” as his child was “stigmatized, ridiculed, and harassed,” a Michigan dad filed suit against the local school district over alleged retaliation for calling out divisive flags.
In the same district that brought Congress Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar, Gary Shane Pruitt filed a lawsuit against the Grosse Pointe Public School System on Monday. At the heart of the complaint is an allegation that his video drawing attention to “many rainbow/transgender pride flags” displayed in the school resulted in him being “punished for engaging in protected free speech.”
According to the lawsuit, in September 2024, Pruitt attended his child’s “back to school night” at Parcells Middle School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, at which point he observed a number of alphabet activist standards displayed in classrooms.
A follow-up visit that was said to have occurred after being granted permission afforded the dad the opportunity to record the flags, which he described as political, divisive, non-inclusive, intimidating, controversial, and inherently sexual in nature. After posting the video to social media, the Grosse Pointe Police Department served Pruitt a “no trespass” letter on Oct. 21, 2024.
BREAKING: Michigan father Gary Shane Pruitt is SUING @GPSchools after they filed a “no-trespass” order against him for exposing a giant PRIDE Flag hanging inside the school.
The school is reportedly framing Pruitt as a “threat,” has BANNED him from school grounds and any… pic.twitter.com/4ImNHaNBK3
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 23, 2026
Following publication of the video, school principal Jason Wesley emailed parents to inform them that, while the “video did not contain any threatening content” there would be “an increased police presence at the start of the school day at Parcells,” a point the suit suggested implied “Mr. Pruitt was somehow a threat to students and staff at the middle school.”
Prior to filming the video, contact with a number of school officials had allegedly included school board member Valerie St. John telling the father, “… if you are concerned that your child is seeing the colors of the rainbow, I would suggest sending them with tinted sunglasses so they aren’t subjected to the full spectrum.”
What’s more, Pruitt’s image was said to have been posted in the school office describing him as a trespasser, which the suit contended led to his child being “stigmatized, ridiculed, and harassed by other children and individuals at the school.” All this, despite the father claiming he “did nothing on the school grounds or campus that violated the cited policy, he did not use school property in any way, he did not cause any disruption while at the school, he did not harass, argue with, or intimidate anyone at the school, nor were there any school functions recorded.”
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Superintendent Andrea Tuttle said, “The District prioritizes the safety and welfare of its students and staff and enforces Board Policies governing access to school buildings. The District is likewise committed to upholding constitutional rights and does not restrict access based on protected speech.”
“Consistent with these obligations, unauthorized entry into classrooms constitutes a violation of Board Policies and may warrant enforcement action to ensure the safety and security of all individuals on school property,” she added.
Meanwhile, Pruitt’s representation, attorney David Kallman of Kallman Legal Group, PLLC, cited a case from 1989 when he wrote in the suit’s introduction, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.”
The attorney went on to write, “Just as citizens cannot be criminally punished for protected speech, a public school cannot retaliate against or punish parental speech that falls within the ambit of the First Amendment.”
Along with seeking monetary compensation, the suit is calling for, among other things, the removal of the “unconstitutional ‘no trespass’ order,” removal of materials about the father posted around the school, as well as changes to school district policy “so that no other parents are punished for engaging in protected free speech.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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