Family sues after Colorado Springs student is removed from class for Gadsden Flag patch

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Two months after Jaiden Rodriguez was removed from class for a Gadsden Flag patch on his backpack, his family is suing The Vanguard School.

The Gadsden Flag was designed during the Revolutionary War and shows a snake and the message, 'Don't tread on me.'

The situation received a lot of attention online when it happened earlier this year and now the seventh grader is suing the school, saying his free speech was infringed upon.

In a video taken by Jaiden's mom, staff at the Vanguard School can be seen saying they were concerned the patch was tied to slavery and therefore was not allowed in the building.

"I collect patches and wear them as mainly to be a hobby, but now I just wear them to show that, no, it's not a racist patch. You guys were misinformed," Rodriguez said.

"The grounds on which they asserted without any basis that they could suppress the speech was that it would substantially disrupt the school day. But they just said that there's no reason for them to think that would happen," Jim Kerwin, an attorney representing Rodriguez said.

Now several months later, Rodriguez is able to wear his patches but has to take them off if they bother another student or a teacher.

Harrison School District said it would not comment on the lawsuit but did issue a statement saying, "No student or students at Vanguard or anywhere in District 2 have been suspended or expelled for displaying the Gadsden flag. No patch depicting the Gadsden flag was ever removed from a student's backpack or possession.

Rodriguez told us that his goal with the lawsuit is to defend the free speech rights of all students.