From Pryor v. School Dist. No. 1, decided yesterday by the Tenth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Joel Carson, joined by Judges Timothy Tymkovich and Scott Matheson:
The First Amendment protects those who petition the government for redress of grievances, even though such speech may offend government officials or damage their public reputation. Plaintiff Brandon Pryor passionately—and at times profanely—criticized actors within Defendant Denver School District No. 1 ("District") when he advocated for change within the District. In response, Defendants stripped him of his volunteer position and restricted his access to District facilities. Because the District likely acted in retaliation against Plaintiff's First Amendment rights, we exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 and affirm the district court's preliminary injunction….
Plaintiff Brandon Pryor advocates for quality educational opportunities in Far Northeast Denver ("FNE Denver"). His advocacy takes many forms: he texts privately with District administration, speaks with officials in person, appears on local podcasts and news media, posts on social media, attends board meetings and work groups, and participates in public comment sessions. He has also served as a volunteer football coach in FNE Denver for many years. In 2019 he co-founded a school in FNE Denver: the Robert W. Smith STEAM Academy ("STEAM Academy").
In October 2022, the District served on Plaintiff a letter from Aaron Thompson, the District's general counsel ("Thompson Letter"). The Thompson Letter alleged that Plaintiff had displayed "abusive, bullying, threatening, and intimidating conduct directed at [District] staff." As support for its allegations, the Thompson Letter described interactions between Plaintiff and District staff throughout the previous two years. The Thompson Letter also quoted Plaintiff's text messages, personal Facebook posts, and statements from phone calls and a local podcast.
The Thompson Letter explained that Neisa Lynch, newly hired principal of Montbello High School in FNE Denver, had complained to the District that Plaintiff subjected her to harassment, defamation, and slander and that he had intimidated and threatened her and her husband. In her complaint, Lynch cited many of Plaintiff's Facebook posts—including a post that specifically called for Lynch's resignation or termination; a post in which Plaintiff stated that she (and others) "are a disgrace to the entire community"; and a post that included Lynch's husband's LinkedIn profile and stated: "What are the chances that Neisa Lynch and her husband Mike Lynch worked together to steal our kids [sic] game? … I'm sure they've talked about it all …" Lynch also complained that Plaintiff told community members not to enroll children at her school; called her derogatory names such as "plantation builder"; and—according to the Thompson Letter—"suggest[ed] her colleagues have endured hate speech, harassment, defamation, and slander by [Plaintiff] as well."
{Lynch was not the first District employee to complain about Plaintiff. Other District employees had complained that Plaintiff had become angry with them and had yelled and cursed in personal interactions. In response to these complaints, the District investigated and found that Plaintiff acted unprofessionally but did not violate District policies on harassment. The District ultimately did not enforce restrictions on Plaintiff based on these prior complaints.}
Each conversation, post, or interaction that the Thompson Letter listed related in some manner to Plaintiff objecting to or calling for changes in District operations. In many posts, Plaintiff called for the resignation or termination of District officials; in others, he criticized District officials for operational missteps or decisions with which he disagreed. The text messages between Plaintiff and District staff included specific demands, sometimes coupled with derogatory statements directed at the staff. Some of Plaintiff's statements, as quoted in the Thompson Letter, were cryptic, such as "Warning! Don't poke a resting bear!" And a few statements contained expletives—such as the following: "Watch out for the Black folks trying to Whitesplain this bullshit" (in a Facebook comment related to a post criticizing Lynch for hiring decisions); and "Stay the fuck away from me" (in a phone conversation with the District's Regional Instructional Superintendent after Plaintiff learned she had canceled a planning meeting for the school he founded).
