A New Hampshire teenager has sued his former high school principal and other officials, alleging an illegal search of his vehicle based solely on his status as a gun owner.
Jack Harrington, 18, who graduated from Hillsboro-Deering High School in June, claims he was harassed and interrogated by school staff about two months prior. This followed him reportedly telling a fellow student he had informed police of a lawfully stored handgun in his glove box during an off-campus traffic stop.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by the Second Amendment Foundation, names the superintendent, principal, vice principal, and school resource officer. School officials subsequently searched Harrington's truck in the school car park but found nothing.
Weeks later, on April 24, school officials asked him about that conversation, confirmed he owned a gun and began to “badger” him about searching his truck. State law prohibits students from bringing firearms onto school property.
Though Harrington said he never brought the gun to school and had no intention of doing so, the school resource officer told him, "You can say whatever you want, we're going to search it anyway," the lawsuit claims.
Courts have found that school officials can conduct such searches if they have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, but Harrington's attorneys argue that knowledge of gun ownership alone falls far short of that standard.
"Being public about exercising your private rights cannot be grounds for being harassed and searched on campus," said Bill Sack, director of legal operations for the Second Amendment Foundation. "The apparent position of the school district here is 'choose to exercise one right, give away another.' That's just not how it works."
Messages seeking comment were left Thursday for Superintendent Jennifer Crawford. Harrington declined a request for an interview. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
