White student, 18, represented by gun-toting St Louis lawyer sues her Catholic school for 'siding with black students who claimed she said "black lives don't matter" and threatened to attack her'

A white student has sued officials at her esteemed private Catholic high school in St. Louis, accusing them of siding with black classmates who called her a racist, claimed she’d said ‘black lives don’t matter’ in class, and then allegedly threatened to attack her because of it.

The 18-year-old senior, a student at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School in Frontenac, made the allegations in a lawsuit she filed against the independent all-girls school with her parents on December 21.

The senior claims officials routinely discriminate against white students ‘by encouraging and facilitating race-based aggression’ by black students.

The female student, referred to only as ‘Daughter Doe’ in legal documents, further alleges that students are unfairly disciplined on race and that staff encourage ‘the concept that all Caucasians are racist by virtue of being Caucasian.’

The family is being represented by attorney Mark McCloskey, who gained national headlines last summer after he and his wife Patricia were hit with felonies for pointing guns at Black Lives Matter demonstrators as they marched past their home in June.

In a statement to the St. Louis Dispatch, McCloskey said: ‘The goal of this is to stop the indoctrination of students with this critical race theory and to also make the community aware that even at Catholic parochial schools, this bizarre, racist, anti-racism is being force-fed down the throats of their children.’

The 18-year-old senior, a student at Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School in Frontenac, made the allegations in a lawsuit she filed against the school with her parents on December 21

The family is being represented by attorney Mark McCloskey, who gained national headlines last summer after he and his wife Patricia were hit with felonies after they both pointed guns at Black Lives Matter demonstrators as they marched past their home in June

The senior claims officials routinely discriminate against white students ‘by encouraging and facilitating race-based aggression’ by Black students

A judge granted the family’s request to use the pseudonyms ‘Daughter Doe, Dad Doe and Mom Doe’ in their suit. Head of School Michael Baber and Principal Jeannie Steenberge are named as defendants in the case, along with a number of other staff members.

The student claims Baber, Steenberge and the other listed faculty members violated school policies by unfairly disciplining her based on race and failing to provide a safe learning environment free of discrimination.

Alice Dickherber, a spokeswoman for Villa Duchesne, declined to comment on the lawsuit to the St. Louis Dispatch. The school is an independent Catholic all-girls school for grades seven through 12.

‘We are not addressing this matter publicly,’ Dickherber said in an email. ‘Our primary focus remains on our mission of Sacred Heart education and on our students as we begin the spring semester.’

On October 10, 2020, the senior claims she was told by a fellow student that three of her classmates, who are black, claimed that she had stood up in class, pointed in the face of a black student and said ‘Black Lives Do NOT Matter!’, according to the suit.

She claims the allegation – a comment she denies making and calls a ‘racially charges lie’ – led to numerous students at the school calling her ‘a racist’. She also claims that some students event threatened to physically harm her, saying they were going to ‘teach her a lesson’ or ‘jump her in the parking lot’ because she was ‘such a racist’.

A video recording of the October 10 class for students attending virtually allegedly proves she never made the statement about black lives, according to the suit.

Three days after the class in question, the student claims she reported the ‘false accusation’ to Principal Steenberge after ‘being subject to enormous social ridicule and threats of personal violence,’ but says she received no response.

She claims the allegation also led to her parent’s home being vandalized.

Head of School Michael Baber and Principal Jeannie Steenberge are named as defendants in the case, along with a number of other staff members.

The student claims Baber, Steenberge and the other listed faculty members violated school policies by unfairly disciplining her based on race and failing to provide a safe learning environment free of discrimination

Eventually, the student said she met with the principal, a teacher, and one of the classmates who made the claim.

During the meeting, she contends the accusing classmate called her liar and denied ever claiming that she’d said ‘Black Lives Don’t Matter’.

But then, according to the plaintiff, the classmate then contradicted herself, admitting ‘that she did, in fact tell people said “Black Lives do NOT Matter!” and further proceeded to call Plaintiff’ a “racist”, “the biggest known racist in the school”, declared that she was “in love with Trump”,’ the lawsuit reads.

The classmate allegedly continued by saying that the girl’s ‘screensaver, socks, posters are all Trump,’ and that ‘everyone knows that ALL Trump supporters are racist.’

A Thin Blue Line flag is seen above. The Plaintiff claims she had the sticker on her laptop, which was mistaken for Blue Lives Matter

The lawsuit says a teacher then told her she should ‘expect to be treated like a racist’ because of what the teacher described as a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ sticker on her laptop.

‘You need to realize that having a Blue Lives Matter flag in reality a thin blue line is racist and that it was made to crush the BLM movement. Simply having that sticker, you should expect to be treated like a racist,’ a teacher, identified as Theresa Wiss, allegedly said.

The sticker, according to the lawsuit, was actually the Thin Blue Line flag, a pro-law enforcement emblem.

‘Despite permitting students and faculty to wear BLM (Black Lives Matter) insignia on campus, the was told that she was, in fact, a racist for having what was inaccurately perceived to be a "Blue Lives Matter" sticker on her laptop,’ the lawsuit says.

Wiss, according to the student, then went on to say that she could ‘never understand the pain of people of color’ and that she needed to ‘accept that fact’.

During a later meeting with Steenberge on October 23, she claims the principal called her racist, because ‘everyone who is white is a racist.’

‘We are all racists, we are white,’ Steenberge allegedly told her, according to the suit.

A dean, who is black and ‘displays BLM materials’ at school, allegedly ‘pressured’ the senior into declaring she felt safe at school and told her the black students would not be disciplined for allegedly threatening her, the suit says.

Alice Dickherber, a spokeswoman for Villa Duchesne, declined to comment on the lawsuit. The school is an independent Catholic all-girls school for grades seven through 12

Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey, standing in front their house along Portland Place confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house on June 28

They later criticized the BLM movement during an appearance at the 2020 Republican National convention

The suit further alleges that ‘Villa Duchesne regularly and routinely discriminates against Caucasian students, specifically ’, in addition failing to provide her a ‘safe’ environment to learn in ‘free of discrimination’.

As a result, the student claims she has ‘suffered extreme and irreparable social, emotional, and psychiatric injury … has lost faith in the educational system, in the integrity of her school, in the word of her administrators, and can no longer feel safe, welcomed, or a part of the school community where she has been a faithful and supportive student for five years.’

The suit is seeking unspecified damages. 

McCloskey, meanwhile, is still involved in legal disputes of his own, alongside his wife Patricia. The couple were indicted on felony weapon and evidence tampering charges by a grand jury in October.

The charges stemmed from a tense stand-off they shared with Black Lives Matter protesters who marched through their private St. Louis neighborhood on June 28.

The couple both armed themselves – McCloskey with a rifle, Patricia with a pistol – and stood out front their home as the procession walked by.

No shots were fired and no injuries were reported, but video from the scene showed the couple and the crowd exchanging fierce words.

Shortly afterwards, the couple said in news interviews they were supporters of Black Lives Matter but were trying to protect their property. They later criticized the BLM movement during an appearance at the 2020 Republican National convention.

The case remains ongoing.