High school senior reflects on faith behind free speech victory

Reflecting on a free speech victory, a North Carolina high school senior described how she and her family relied on their faith in pursuing a legal challenge after her school removed a tribute to Charlie Kirk.

Gabby Stout, a student at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, and her parents shared their experience in a Sept. 10 feature published by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the family in the case.

“I didn’t want this to happen to another person,” Stout told ADF. “If calling a lawyer would prevent it, then I was ready to take those steps.”

The dispute began after Stout and two friends painted a campus boulder used for student messages following Kirk’s assassination in September 2025. Their tribute, as Zeale News previously reported, included an American flag, “Freedom 1776,” and “Live Like Kirk—John 11:25.”

Kirk’s public witness to Christianity was what drew her daughter to him, her mother, Kristin Stout, told ADF.

“She’s not into politics. She loved Charlie’s message, how he loved his country,” she said. “She liked that someone was standing up for Christ.”

Gabby also recalled Kirk’s willingness to discuss Christianity with students who held different beliefs.

“I liked what he said. He spoke truth to campuses. He wanted people to be able to defend their faith and what they believe in,” she said. “He debated students, but he’d welcome them, even if they weren’t from the same background or didn’t agree with him.”

Before painting the rock, Stout called the school office and received permission, according to the family’s complaint, cited in Zeale News’ earlier report. After the tribute was painted over, a school email characterized the painting as vandalism and said law enforcement had been contacted.

The complaint said administrators subsequently required Stout to write a statement about the painting and show her phone logs. Recalling that experience, she told ADF she wanted to remain at school despite feeling overwhelmed.

“My mom said, ‘Do you want to come home?’ And I wanted to, but I said, ‘I don’t want to look like I’m running away from this. I didn’t do anything wrong,’” Stout said.

The family’s lawsuit, filed Dec. 8, also challenged rules adopted after the incident that prohibited religious and political messages on the rock. Under a settlement announced in June, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education agreed to adopt a new student speech policy, publicly clear Stout of wrongdoing, express regret, and pay $95,000 in attorneys’ fees and related costs, as Zeale News previously reported.

In its statement, the board said the painting had not violated the policies in effect at the time.

“It was not an act of vandalism, and the school did not report the incident to law enforcement,” the board said. “The Board regrets that the student had this experience.”

For the Stouts, the decision to seek legal representation followed prayer about how to respond.

“It would have been easy to remain silent, but, like Paul says in Romans 1:16, ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel,’” Kristin Stout told ADF. “That’s what led us to take action.”

Gabby said her mother had asked several times whether she regretted painting the tribute.

“No, I don’t,” she said. “I would do it again. I’ve been through a lot, but it’s worth it for God — and Charlie Kirk, to honor him.”