A Wisconsin mom and conservative activist has received a free speech case after being sued for defamation over social media posts criticizing her faculty district’s “woke” priorities.
Scarlett Johnson, a frontrunner in Mothers for Liberty’s Wisconsin chapter, was sued by Mary MacCudden, a former English trainer and “Social Justice Coordinator” for the Mequon-Thiensville Faculty District (MTSD), after Johnson made essential posts on social media in October 2022.
Johnson posted a screenshot of MacCudden’s LinkedIn profile and wrote, “Why the hell am I paying for a ‘Social Justice Coordinator’ in my faculty district?” She added, “That is simply what @mtschools wants; extra woke, White girls w/ a god advanced. Thanks, White savior.”
In different posts, Johnson described DEI specialists as “woke lunatics” and “bullies” who “bully” dad and mom “into silence and compliance.”
MacCudden filed a defamation lawsuit in 2022.
The circuit court docket allowed components of the case to proceed, however Johnson and her attorneys on the Wisconsin Institute for Regulation and Liberty (WILL) appealed the choice.
WILL argued that Johnson’s feedback had been “run-of-the-mill social media posts” which can be protected by the First Modification.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Courtroom of Appeals sided with Johnson, ruling that her feedback had been opinions, not factual statements that might be confirmed true or false, and due to this fact couldn’t be thought-about defamatory.
“We conclude that Johnson’s statements don’t represent defamation. Thus, we reverse and remand for the circuit court docket to enter abstract judgment in Johnson’s favor,” the appeals court docket discovered.
Phrases like “bully” and “lunatic” are subjective, the court docket argued, whereas the phrases “woke,” “White savior” and “god advanced” are “obscure and should not have a transparent that means or definition,” it mentioned.
One choose dissented, saying the posts recognized MacCudden by title and may need implied undisclosed info {that a} jury ought to take into account.
Johnson mentioned she noticed the lawsuit as an effort to silence her and different dad and mom who spoke out towards DEI packages.
She recalled dealing with an identical defamation declare simply days earlier than a 2021 faculty board election, calling it a politically timed try to intimidate her.
“I felt I needed to combat again on this case. It couldn’t be like the opposite. I needed to rise up as a result of this could by no means cease,” she informed Fox Information Digital. “They’d maintain going after dad and mom like me.”
She added that she hopes the ruling encourages different dad and mom to talk out towards “radical ideologies” in public colleges with out worry of being sued.
“This units authorized precedent,” she mentioned. “Mother and father in every single place can converse the reality about what’s taking place of their colleges with rather less worry that they’re going to be dragged into court docket for frivolous lawsuits.”
WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg praised the ruling in an announcement.
“Scarlett, like all of us, has the appropriate to query and criticize her authorities. The defamation lawsuit towards her was meritless and will have been promptly dismissed. We’re happy that the Courtroom agreed, and that Scarlett can put this distraction behind her,” he mentioned.
Fox Information Digital reached out to MacCudden’s lawyer, James McAlister, for remark however didn’t obtain a response.
