Supreme Court declines Michigan students’ appeal over ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ sweatshirts

The Supreme Court on Oct. 5, 2026, declined without explanation to hear an appeal over a Michigan school’s order that two brothers remove “Let’s Go Brandon” sweatshirts, leaving lower-court rulings for the district in place. The brothers, D.A. and X.A., were in sixth and eighth grade; their mother bought the shirts as 2022 Christmas gifts and sued the district and two employees in 2023. A lower court held the phrase’s veiled vulgarity, standing in for “F— Joe Biden,” allows a ban under the school’s profanity policy. Lawyers for the mother argued the apparel is protected political speech and cannot be censored so long as it is not disruptive; the district said messages with lewd implications have no place in school even if political and noted some students wore “Make America Great Again” or Trump-supporting clothing. The slogan began in 2021 when a NASCAR crowd’s obscenity toward Biden was misheard as support for driver Brandon Brown. The denial leaves unresolved how far schools may restrict coded or indirect political expression.