The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Live Oak High School administration in California did not violate the First Amendment in asking students to turn their American Flag T-shirts inside-out on Cinco De Mayo. The administration claimed that there was a real threat of violence justifying the censorship. (Student Press Law Center, March 3, 2014, by Rex Santus)
In 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a school administration in the “Bong hits 4 Jesus” case ruling that under the First Amendment they could ban statements that encouraged the use of illegal drugs. (Jurist, February 28, 2014, by William Helbling)
Law blogger Eugene Volokh, Volokh Conspiracy, February 27, 2014, called the Cinco De Mayo incident an instance of the triumph of the “heckler’s veto,” government officials suppressing speech to prevent violence. Volokh wrote that it is was regrettable that students could not wear the American flag T-shirt to school for fear of attack and that the suppression of speech sent the wrong message that if students did not agree with some statement, they could shut it down with threats.