From C1.G v. Siegfried, decided yesterday—correctly, I think—by the Tenth Circuit (Judge Paul Kelly, joined by Judges Scott Matheson & Carolyn McHugh):
On the evening of Friday, September 13, 2019, C.G. was off campus at a thrift store with three friends. He took a picture of his friends wearing wigs and hats, including "one hat that resembled a foreign military hat from the World War II period." on the social media platform Snapchat and captioned it, "Me and the boys bout [sic] to exterminate the Jews." C.G.'s post (the photo and caption) was part of his private "story," an online feed visible only to Snapchat users connected with C.G. on that platform. Posts on a user's Snapchat story are automatically deleted after 24 hours, but C.G. removed this post after a few hours. He then posted on his Snapchat story, "I'm sorry for that picture it was ment [sic] to be a joke."
One of C.G.'s Snapchat "friend[s]" took a photograph of the post before C.G. deleted it. {"Friends" on Snapchat are users who have connected on the platform and can therefore see one another's "private" stories.} She showed it to her father, and he called the police, who visited C.G.'s house and found no threat. Referencing prior anti-Semitic activity and indicating that the post caused concern for many in the Jewish community, a CCHS parent emailed the school and community leaders about the post.
C.G. was expelled for a year, for violating school district policies:
