A New Jersey man is suing his former community college, a business professor, and a dean, claiming he was branded a “racist” in front of his classmates and pushed out of an online course because of a “Trump 2020” flag that was hanging on his bedroom wall during a Zoom class.Justin Caiazzo, 29, of Lake Hiawatha, filed the complaint late last month in New Jersey Superior Court.Caiazzo is suing Passaic County Community College, Professor Gladys Harris, and dean Peter Hynes.The lawsuit says his First Amendment rights were violated during a business statistics class in July 2021.Caiazzo was attending the class from home when Harris stopped the session after noticing the flag in his background, according to the complaint obtained by the New York Post.The document says she demanded that he take it off the wall immediately and told him the class would not continue until he did. Caiazzo says he did not discuss or mention politics in class.When he asked what was wrong with the flag, Harris called it “offensive,” the lawsuit alleges.Harris then called him a “racist” in front of the other students and removed him from the Zoom call, effectively kicking him out of the class, after he refused to take it down.When Caiazzo logged on for the next class, the complaint says Harris let other students speak over him and refused to let him participate.After class, he asked about tutoring and about discussing what had happened. Harris told him to get help on “tutor.com” and would not address the incident, the suit says.Caiazzo complained about the professor’s behavior to other school officials, including Hynes.The college opened a review and sided with the professor, court papers say, blaming Caiazzo and treating his “political expression” as “disfavored.”The lawsuit says officials did not offer meaningful relief, such as a transfer or a no-credit grade.Caiazzo withdrew rather than finish the course under those conditions.The complaint says he “ultimately withdrew from the class at his own expense rather than continue under conditions regarded as hostile, unfair, unconstitutional and academically untenable.”Caiazzo is seeking unspecified damages for educational harm, emotional distress, and humiliation.The former student’s lawyer, Marc Calello, told the New York Post that “our client was wronged on many levels.”Calello said Caiazzo couldn’t graduate because he was forced to drop the course, and he argued that colleges meant to foster debate are instead censoring certain views.“There’s a difference between an opinion and a fact … regardless of what side you’re on,” Calello said.Caiazzo later completed the same business statistics course at William Paterson University with a grade of 88, and the suit claims Passaic County Community College has refused to issue his associate’s degree despite his completing the requirements.The college, Hynes, and Harris did not respond to the Post’s requests for comment.A school spokeswoman told NJ.com the college does not comment on ongoing litigation.The post New Jersey Student Sues After Professor Called Him a ‘Racist’ Over a Trump Flag on His Bedroom Wall appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.