From Staff reports 

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville students reached a settlement with the Smithsonian museum over “pro-life” hats, the Greenville News reported on March 21.

Specifically, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum settled a lawsuit on March 18 with students at a Greenville area Catholic school after an incident one year ago where the students were asked to remove their “pro-life” hats. 

When students from Our Lady of the Rosary visited the museum in Washington D.C. in January 2023, museum security personnel asked students to remove blue beanies they were wearing with “Rosary Pro-Life” lettering, a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. stated.

The 15 plaintiffs and six “potential” plaintiffs, students or parents of minor children who are students at the school, as well as at least one chaperone for the trip, will receive a collective $50,000 settlement. This includes attorneys’ fees. The school and associated church itself were not plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 

The American Center for Law and Justice, a faith-based legal institution, represented the students in the lawsuit. 

The complaint, filed Feb. 6, 2023, lists the museum, museum director Christopher Browne, the Smithsonian’s Office of Protection Services, the OPS director and five anonymous police or security officers as defendants.