Woke Vegas school compared boy to racist cross burner over pro-ICE stickers and expelled him... but did not punish pro-migrant students for class walkout, lawsuit alleges

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 19:32, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 19:33, 9 June 2026 A Las Vegas teenager was expelled from school after administrators learned that he placed pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stickers around campus, but students who walked out in protest of the agency were not punished, according to a new lawsuit.  A student at East Career and Technical Academy, who was only identified as N.C. in the legal complaint, has accused Clark County School District administrators of viewpoint discrimination after he was disciplined for displaying 'six emblems on the walls of one hallway' on January 22, the lawsuit obtained by the Daily Mail stated.  The homemade stickers, which were about 2in by 2in in size, included the school's logo - Titans - on them and positive rhetoric about ICE, including 'ICE Immigration Enforcement, Border Security Academy Deportation Force, and Titans ICE,' the filing detailed.  The stickers did not make any 'reference to any individual, any group, or any race, and did not include profanity, threats, slurs, references to race or ethnicity, or targeted harassment of any individual or group,' according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the student and his father, George Crossman.  But just the day before the 10th grader's stickers were found, hundreds of students across the district had participated in an anti-ICE walk-out where they shouted profanities, the complaint stated.  One student involved in the protest also appeared to hold up a large poster with a swastika on it, an image included in the filing showed.  Those who participated in the walk-out were not penalized for their actions, but as soon as staff got word that N.C. slapped the stickers on the wall, they were immediately taken down and compared to someone displaying 'a burning cross', per the complaint.  The lawsuit said that three female students saw the stickers, and at least one teacher at the school reported seeing a 'politically inappropriate item' on the hallway wall.  A student at East Career and Technical Academy, who was only identified as N.C. in the legal complaint, put up pro-ICE stickers (pictured) in a hallway at his school on January 22  Hundreds of students across the district had participated in an anti-ICE walk-out where they shouted profanities, the complaint stated. One student involved in the protest also appeared to hold up a large poster with a swastika on it, an image included in the filing showed Once all of the emblems were removed, Thomas Smith, the assistant principal of East Career & Technical Academy, ordered a search on N.C.'s computer as part of the school's 'investigation,' the legal filing read.  During that search, school staff found that N.C. searched 'tough ICE pictures,' and looked up topics related to Martin Luther King Jr. and his assassination on or before January 19 -  the day the American civil rights leader was celebrated this year, according to the lawsuit.  After seeing that, Smith 'determined these searches to be a racist threat,' and decided to pull N.C. for a closed-door meeting to discuss his behavior, the complaint read.  During that conversation, 'N.C. explained that he was expressing his support for law enforcement by placing AI generated emblems that supported ICE, around the school,' and that he chose to do so in a bid to 'open a conversation amongst students at ECTA that have similar beliefs after seeing other students across CCSD express their Anti-ICE political beliefs,' the lawsuit detailed.  Smith then told the student that his actions were comparable to those of someone putting posters up that stated 'Let's go get whitey,' the filing stated.  When the administrator asked N.C. if that theoretical post offended him, the student said it did. Smith then quizzed him to see if he knew what ICE stands for, per the complaint.  'ICE is a government agency here to enforce the laws of our country not by race or nationality. Simply by whether a person is here legally or illegally,' N.C. replied, according to the suit.  Their meeting ended with Smith determining that N.C. 'was racist and his motivations were racist' and that he would be suspended over his actions, pending a 'discretionary expulsion from attendance at Clark County Schools for a 'racially motivated incident,' according to the filing. The complaint is seeking damages exceeding $15,000, the removal of N.C.'s expulsion from his record, and for him to be reinstated at the school (pictured) After N.C. was expelled, his father, George, appealed the decision and joined his son and Smith in another meeting that did not change the district's punishment for the child.  George again appealed his son's expulsion, and this time sat down with Principal Natasha LeRutte, who agreed with Smith in stating that 'N.C.'s actions were racially motivated,' the suit said. After the lawsuit was filed May on 14, Crossman and his son defended their efforts in an interview with Fox News Digital.  'He was definitely treated unfairly,' George said. 'We did address that with the assistant principal and principal. And they claimed that was just a truancy issue... because they walked off the campus.'  When asked why he decided to post the stickers on the wall, N.C. told the outlet his only intention was to show his support for the federal agency.  But when Smith made comparisons about his actions, N.C. said: 'I was taken aback. I was like, what are you crazy?,' he told the publication.  Amanda Nalder, one of the attorneys representing the father and son, said the case is a clear example of viewpoint discrimination.  'Children and students do not lose their fundamental rights at the schoolhouse gates,' Nalder told Fox News Digital, referring to the Supreme Court's 1969 decision in Tinker v. Des Moines.  Thomas Smith (left), the assistant principal of East Career & Technical Academy, and Natasha LeRutte (right), the principal of East Career & Technical Academy 'The Supreme Court has held that up for over 50 years, and unfortunately, CCSD has taken an opposing viewpoint to that law. They believe that they can discriminate based on a viewpoint, and what they did here,' she added.  The complaint is seeking damages exceeding $15,000, the removal of N.C.'s expulsion from his record, and for him to be reinstated. The Daily Mail contacted the student's lawyers, LeRutte, Smith, and the Clark County School District for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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