A North Carolina school has agreed to pay $95K to a student after it censored her tribute to slain Christian conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Last September Gabby Stout, a student at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, felt inspired to write a patriotic message on her school’s “spirit rock” to honor Kirk. The rock is used by students at the school to post inspiring messages for the student body. Two days after Kirk’s assassination, Stout alleges she reached out to school officials and was given permission to write a tribute to Kirk. The next day, Stout, two of her friends, and her parents painted the rock with the phrases “Freedom 1776” and “Live Like Kirk—John 11:25.” The Bible reference is a quote from Jesus, where he states, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…”

Within hours of painting the rock, however, school officials ordered the “Live Like Kirk” portion to be painted over. The next day, school officials sent a schoolwide email stating the rock had been vandalized and that law enforcement would be performing a criminal investigation. After Stout admitted she had painted the rock, she was pulled from class, and her phone was taken from her to check her phone logs. At no time were her parents contacted, nor was Stout alerted to her constitutional rights to seek an attorney during a criminal investigation. Soon after, the school said it would change its policy so that no religious messages were permitted on the spirit rock but only those that promoted “positive school spirit” as well as messages that “uphold the inclusive values of our school community.”

Stout was blindsided by the investigation, especially after it concluded that neither Stout nor her parents had committed any act of vandalism. The investigation was closed, but the school never issued an apology to Stout and even went so far as to deny having accused Stout of any wrongdoing. In the past, other political messages had been posted on the rock without any repercussions, such as in 2020 when students painted the rock in support of Black Lives Matter. When other students painted over the messaging, the school allowed the students to repaint the message, along with expressions like “No Justice. No Peace,” “I can’t breathe,” and “End police brutality.”

Stout’s parents filed a suit in December 2025 against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. In June, the board agreed to pay $95,000 in costs and attorney fees, adopt a new policy, and publicly clear Stout of any wrongdoing. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Stout was elated. “This settlement finally reinforces that I did nothing wrong, and the school system has to admit that publicly. After I got permission to paint a message sharing my faith in God, school officials accused me of vandalism in front of my whole school and my entire community,” she said. “Then they put me through an unfair investigation. They never should have treated me this way, and by saying they regret that I had this experience, they are finally acknowledging that publicly.”

ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham blasted the school’s treatment of Stout. “What happened to this student is outrageous. School officials should never censor, punish, or shame a student simply for sharing her views. Charlie Kirk boldly defended open and respectful discourse on school grounds literally until his last breath, and this courage inspired many across the country, including our client, whom Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials treated so abominably,” he said. “It is long past time for school officials to learn that they cannot promote student viewpoints they like while punishing students whose views they dislike. We hope the new policy prevents school officials from subjecting any other students to the abuse our client experienced and will instead force them to respect every student’s constitutional rights.”