A Washougal man who brought a “Make America Great Again” hat to an Evergreen Public Schools employee training session on diversity and racial equity has filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was defamed and deprived of his civil rights because of his political beliefs.

Eric Dodge, a former teacher, names former Wy’east Middle School Principal Caroline Garrett and district human resources manager Janae Gomes in the complaint filed in United States District Court. The complaint alleges that Dodge suffered “emotional devastation” and a “recurrence of debilitating stroke symptoms” after being “verbally attacked and defamed by his new principal for the political opinions he held as a private citizen — specifically, statements in support of President Trump,” according to the complaint.

The incident occurred over two days during a series of staff training sessions prior to the beginning of school, including a first-day session on implicit bias, diversity and racial equity, according to district documents. Dodge said in the complaint that he had the cap with him during those sessions but did not “wear or purposefully display” the hat inside either Wy’east or at a different training session the second day at Evergreen High School.

Public records obtained from the school district offer a more detailed timeline of events, including concerns expressed by multiple teachers about the hat, a district investigation that revealed no wrongdoing and, ultimately, Garrett’s resignation from her position at the middle school.

Garrett did not respond to a request for comment, and Evergreen Public Schools declined to comment on the specific allegations in the lawsuit. The district does not comment on pending litigation.