Wisconsin School Board Rules Nazi Salute Kids Are Just Exercising Free Speech

The Baraboo School District will not pursue any legal or punitive action against the group of current and former students who performed the Nazi salute in a prom photo last year, saying that the students are protected by the First Amendment.

The photo became a controversy earlier this month after journalist Jules Suzdaltsev called attention to it on Twitter, but was taken last year before th Baraboo High School junior prom.

Per the Wisconsin State Journal, Baraboo School District Administrator Lori Mueller said that since the photo was taken off campus, by a photographer not paid by the school (one of the students’ parents!), and because the people in the photo were both current and former students, no disciplinary action would be taken.

The letter, sent via student information system Infinite Campus, stated the 10-day investigation involving local authorities, parents and others has left “some key details” unclear. They were seeking to understand the events leading up to the photo being taken, as well as what happened after.

“As previously stated, we cannot know the intentions in the hearts of those who were involved,” Mueller wrote. “Moreover, because of students’ First Amendment rights, the district is not in a position to punish the students for their actions.”

Following the District’s announcement today Suzdaltsev posted a screenshot of a conversation with a student claiming to also have gone to Baraboo High School, who said that the school had a pretty messed up double standard toward this sort of thing.

Great, glad we cleared all of that up. Congratulations to the several members of Baraboo High School’s class of 2019 on their fledgling careers as racist provocateurs. Your parents (one of whom took the picture) are surely proud.