In 2014, the atheist legal group American Humanist Association (AHA) filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey school district for the use of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. After being informed of the situation, high school student Samantha Jones reached out to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The Becket Fund has long been outspoken in its efforts to protect the presence of this phrase in the pledge. After the matter was brought to court, Judge David Bauman granted the motion to dismiss the case in February, stating that the words were not being used in a religious manner, but rather as part of a patriotic practice. On April 13, 2015, the Becket Fund announced that the AHA officially dropped the lawsuit, resulting in the school allowing the words to remain.
