Minnesota High Schooler’s Tweet Lawsuit Still Alive

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge says a lawsuit filed by a suburban Twin Cities high school student can move forward after he was suspended for a two-word tweet about kissing a teacher.

The judge said in a memorandum Tuesday that Reid Sagehorn may have had his First and 14th Amendment rights violated by the Elk River School District. Sagehorn was suspended for nearly two months in 2014 after sending the tweet, and says he was forced to transfer from Rogers High School to avoid expulsion.

Sagehorn has said he meant it as a joke when he tweeted "Actually, yeah," in response to an anonymous post online about kissing a female gym teacher.

The Star Tribune reports district officials argued the tweet was obscene, and that the First Amendment doesn't protect obscenity. A motion to throw out the lawsuit was rejected.