Youngster Claims Expulsion Over Lyrics Is Bum Rap

A 14-year-old eighth-grader is challenging his expulsion from school for allegedly posting violent rap lyrics on the Internet.

American Civil Liberties Union attorneys believe Anthony Latour's songs are protected speech, and they are suing Riverside Beaver County School District northwest of Pittsburgh for kicking the boy out this past spring.

"Anthony Latour recorded these songs in his own home. He never brought them to school," Witold "Vic" Walczak, director of the ACLU's Greater Pittsburgh chapter, told ABC News affiliate WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh. "The principal admitted in the expulsion hearing that the songs did not cause a disruption in the school."

Latour was expelled in early May, and the district later extended the expulsion through the coming school year. The lawsuit seeks to have Latour reinstated in time for school's return on Aug. 31.

The school district's solicitor was not available for comment for a report this week on WTAE-TV. Authorities and school officials would not comment to several other media outlets.

'Battle Rap' Brings Arrest at School

In April, Latour was removed from class at Riverside Middle School by North Sewickley Township police and charged with making terroristic threats and harassment because he named another student in a rap called "Massacre."

"Anthony and this student engaged in a battle of verbal content," said Kim Watterson, an attorney assigned to represent Latour. "It was a battle rap -- send me your discs, send me your songs, see if you can rhyme better than I can."

One of Latour's songs, cited by The Associated Press, went: "You're a rook, I'm the king, and I'm cookin' ya quick / I'm lookin' to stab, don't even look for the strap."

Another song contained the lyrics: "So watch what you say about me, I'm everywhere son / And the word of mouth is that I'm carrying guns / Now that I'm comin' for you — what the [expletive] you gonna do / I come double with the pump tons of slugs that will punish you."

Walczak admitted the lyrics are violent, but told reporters they're meant to be metaphorical.

Latour, who goes by the name "emceeaccident," has been composing rap songs for several years, a hobby supported by his parents -- though his father isn't a fan of the style.

"My grandparents didn't like Elvis, and my parents didn't like Pink Floyd,'' Anthony's father, John Latour, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Rap isn't my taste in music, [but] Anthony's mother and I support his passion for it.''