Lawsuit: Colorado teacher claims he was fired for identifying as a proud American  

A teacher is suing after allegedly being fired for refusing to accept his district’s “anti-white and anti-American agenda.”

Patrick Hogarty was an educator for nearly 20 years and the dean of students at Campus Middle School in Colorado’s Cherry Creek School District  

According to his lawsuit, his job required him to attend “Courageous Conversations” training, which focused on “equity and disrupting whiteness,” as well as monthly “equity pods” and meetings among district deans which focused on race, inequity and “systemic oppression.”  

At one such training on Jan. 18, attendees were asked to define “whiteness” and explained how they identified. 

“Hogarty told the group that he identifies as an American,” the lawsuit explains, “that he loves his country, and that he believes it is the greatest country ever founded.”  

The district’s equity director later complained to the principal that Hogarty failed to understand “what people of color go through” and that America is “systemically racist.” 

On March 1, Hogarty was fired for what the school allegedly said were financial reasons.  

However, Cherry Creek’s budget for full-time staff in 2024-25 actually increased from the previous year. 

So Hogarty is suing the district for violating his constitutional rights.  

“Cherry Creek School District blatantly violated the First Amendment rights of our client when they terminated him because his pride in the United States of America did not align with the district’s political ideology that America is a systemically racist nation,” said Ian Prior, a senior advisor at America First Legal, which is representing the teacher. 

“We are proud to stand up for all teachers across America who are being unfairly persecuted for daring to challenge a government-sponsored orthodoxy that teaches hatred of America and seeks to marginalize people based on their viewpoints and the color of their skin.” 

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, lists the Cherry Creek school board, superintendent, the middle school principal, human resources director and equity director as defendants. 

Not long after Hogarty was fired, Campus Middle School held a LGBTQ+ “Day of Silence,” complete with a promotional video, “solidarity” activities, and related merchandise.