A high school student in New Jersey was suspended for refusing to remove a Confederate flag from his pickup truck. 

Seventeen-year-old Gregory Vied was suspended from school for flying the flag on his truck, according to News12.com. His car was parked in a student lot at Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, N.J. 

Vied said he refused to remove the flag in spite of warnings from school administrators. 

He said that he understands the history of the flag, but says he sees it as a "representation of Southern pride," and says it represents his connection to his relatives from the South. 

"Them trying to make me take it down is unconstitutional," Vied said.

Despite the controversial nature of the flag, the American Civil Liberties Union told News12 that Vied's freedom of expression cannot be limited, even if it elicits complaints from teachers and/or students. 

The Confederate flag, which is seen flying all over the South, represents the South's break from the Union during the Civil War, as well as the South's fight to keep slavery alive. While it is currently seen by some as a "representation of Southern pride," it also literally represents an endorsement of slavery and a South that seceded from the Union. 

Nevertheless, the ACLU contends that Vied has a right to fly the flag. 

"As the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear, students' rights don't end at the school house gates," ACLU Legal Director Ed Barocas said. "It also doesn't end in the school parking lot."

Vied was originally suspended for three days, but it was cut to one day after the ACLU sent a letter to the principal stating that school officials would have to prove that the banned expression would "materially and substantially" disrupt the school's daily operations. 

Some of Vied's friends have shown support for their friend by arriving at school with Confederate flags on their trucks and cars. None of the other students have been suspended. 

The superintendent of the school district would not comment on Vied's suspension due to student privacy reasons.