Barrett Campaign FOIAs High School Teacher's Email Over ICE Protest

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/12/2026) As the 2026 midterms approach, U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte)'s campaign team is turning its attention to an East Lansing High School (ELHS) political club.

William Funk, a staffer for Barrett, filed a public records request last week seeking emails and other correspondence related to a recent protest at ELHS over the actions of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The request sought messages between students and staff about the January walkout, as well as communication between members and the sponsor of the Students for Political Action club, and Democratic congressional candidate William Lawrence during January of this year.

Lawrence is not only running for Barrett's 7th Congressional District seat, but he is also an alumnus of the school and spoke during their walk-out protest.

Tim Akers, an ELHS teacher who serves as the club's required faculty advisor, explained that the club's student president independently organized the walkout and later reached out to Lawrence to speak with students. School administrators were aware of the protest, Akers said, even encouraging it and attending.

“The next thing I know, there was this FOIA that was given to me by our principal,” Akers said. “I was surprised that this would have been brought to his attention. I don’t even know who would have told him or how he would have discovered it.”

He added that the district handles the request and that he turned over all communications to the district for review and release. Most of the emails were from students to him, he said, not the other way around, and largely focused on routine club matters.

“They were just, you know, kind of day-to-day boring kind of things,” Akers said, adding that the emails primarily involved organizing a holiday food and clothing drive and scheduling meetings. “In none of them did we actually even discuss Lawrence coming in to speak or the protest.”

While the FOIA request does not explicitly allege wrongdoing, Akers said he found the level of scrutiny unusual.

“To pay attention to a high school advocacy club to this degree is kind of surprising,” he said. He also said that he suggested the club also invite Barrett to speak and that they sent the invitation this week awaiting a response.

Lawrence responded in a statement saying that Barrett voted to give $75 billion to ICE, adding, “They murdered people in the streets, and now he's trying to intimidate high school kids for speaking out against it,” he said. "The only thing thinner than Barrett's skin is his record of accomplishment in office. I hope all the young people in this district continue to exercise their right to free speech."

Jason Cabel Roe, who handles press for Barrett’s campaign, did not respond to a call, voicemail or text seeking comment. Funk also did not respond to requests for comment.