Administrators at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego are facing a federal lawsuit alleging they retaliated against two students for expressing pro-Trump views during an anti-ICE rally. The complaint, filed on August 19, claims that school officials not only disciplined the students but also falsely reported one of them to the police, leading to an overnight psychiatric hold.
The student referred to as M.F. brought a small printout to the February 6 rally that depicted "LGBT" using images, including a photo of President Donald Trump for the letter "T." According to the suit, after the rally, M.F. returned to class with the flyer. His teacher reportedly became upset, and the situation escalated days later when M.F. and another student were called to Assistant Principal Angela Guerrero's office. They were initially given two days of detention for bringing the flyers and allegedly "frightening" other students.
Escalation and Psychiatric Hold
Later the same week, M.F. was summoned to the office alone, where school officials accused him of conducting "disturbing searches" on a public school computer. These alleged searches included inquiries into "how to load a Glock," "how to load a magazine," and "how to dispose of a body." M.F. denied making these searches, asserting that student computers were not secure and could be easily tampered with. The lawsuit states Guerrero eventually allowed M.F. to return to class after he denied the accusations.
The following day, however, police officers arrived at the school and questioned M.F. The complaint details that school officials prevented M.F.'s parents from seeing him, instead directing them to speak with a crisis social worker. The social worker reportedly stated that the police were called because the alleged searches made a staff member feel "scared" and "unsafe." Police then took M.F. to a mental health facility, where he was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold and held overnight. A subsequent search of his home yielded no findings, according to the lawsuit.
"M.F. did not research how to load a ‘glock,’ did not confess to murder, was not watching homicide videos, and did not target the LGBT community. The claims were completely false, as school officials were fully aware," the complaint states.
Allegations of Disparate Treatment
Despite being cleared of criminal charges, the lawsuit claims the fallout continued for months. M.F. was allegedly barred from playing on the varsity baseball team, required to meet with counselors, and subjected to testing for "Special Education placement and ongoing mental health monitoring." The complaint also alleges that administrators referred to him as an "LGBT bully."
The lawsuit contends that this treatment reflects a broader pattern at Torrey Pines High School regarding political speech, particularly concerning immigration enforcement. The complaint points to a previous incident where a 17-year-old student was suspended for posting pro-ICE flyers, only for the suspension to be removed from his record after pressure from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Attorneys for M.F. argue that the district punishes conservative or pro-law-enforcement speech more harshly than opposing viewpoints, alleging a "custom, practice, and/or policy at the District of disciplining students who express politically conservative or pro-law-enforcement viewpoints more severely than students who express the contrary viewpoint, for materially similar or less serious conduct."
Edwin Mendoza, a spokesperson for the San Dieguito Union High School District, declined to comment on the specific allegations, citing student privacy and ongoing litigation.