A Pennsylvania school district is apologizing after two studentsâ pro-Trump hats were blurred out in the yearbook.
Jeremy Gebhart and his friend wore their red baseball caps with U.S. President Donald Trumpâs slogan âMake America Great Againâ during Littlestown High Schoolâs spirit week in October. He said theyâre both strong supporters of the president.
âI just think he wants to help our country,â Gebhart told local television station WPMT.
During the festivities, someone snapped a photo of the boys wearing their hats. The image was later published in the high schoolâs yearbook with a noticeable alteration.
Trumpâs name and his slogan had been removed from the photo so that it appeared as if the students were wearing plain red caps.
âThey, like, blurred our hats out,â Gebhart said. âI was like, âWow. Are you serious?ââ
The edited photo also surprised Gebhartâs mother.
âI was infuriated because he wears that hat because he supports our president,â Lorraine Gebhart said. âHeâs not doing anything illegal whatsoever. Heâs wearing a hat of support.â
The teenager said he felt like his right to free speech had been violated by whoever modified the photo.
âEverybody has First Amendment rights to have freedom of speech and theyâre allowed to think what they want, say what they want, but theyâre not allowed to take that away from other people,â he said.
In response, the superintendent of the Littlestown School District issued a statement apologizing.
âThe mistake was not noticed during the editorial preview process prior to print. We apologize on behalf of the yearbook club. It is not the policy or practice of the district to improperly censor speech,â .
Lorraine Gebhart said it was upsetting that someone tried to silence her sonâs political expression.
âSomeone did this on purpose to blur out that Trump logo and make their own statement,â she said. âIt is OK to disagree with peopleâs views, but whatâs not OK is taking your freedom of speech and using it to take away someone elseâs.â
With a report from Fox43 Newsâ Jossie Carbonare