A Colorado school district is being sued for allegedly firing an educator who claimed the United States is the “greatest country” ever founded.

America First Legal filed the lawsuit Thursday against the Cherry Creek School District claiming that the district violated Patrick Hogarty’s First Amendment rights when it “pressured him to embrace race-based ideologies” during a mandatory diversity training in January.

During the training organized by “Courageous Conversations,” Hogarty, who was then Dean of Students at Campus Middle School, was asked, “What does it mean to be White?,” “What experiences define Whiteness?” and “How do you identify?”

In response, he allegedly said that he identifies as an American, that he loves his country, and that he believes it is the greatest country ever founded.

The program facilitators had assured participants that all comments would remain confidential and would not impact employment status, but the employee’s comments were reported to the school principal as having “racist undertones,” according to the lawsuit.