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A Wisconsin mom and conservative activist has gained a free speech case after being sued for defamation over social media posts criticizing her college district’s “woke” priorities.
Scarlett Johnson, a frontrunner in Mothers for Liberty’s Wisconsin chapter, was sued by Mary MacCudden, a former English instructor and “Social Justice Coordinator” for the Mequon-Thiensville Faculty District (MTSD), after Johnson made important 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 college district?” She added, “That is simply what @mtschools wants; extra woke, White ladies w/ a god complicated. 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 elements of the case to proceed, however Johnson and her legal professionals on the Wisconsin Institute for Regulation and Liberty (WILL) appealed the choice.
WILL argued that Johnson’s feedback have been “run-of-the-mill social media posts” which can be protected by the First Modification.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Court docket of Appeals sided with Johnson, ruling that her feedback have been opinions, not factual statements that could possibly 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 complicated” are “obscure and wouldn’t have a transparent that means or definition,” it stated.
One choose dissented, saying the posts recognized MacCudden by identify and may need implied undisclosed details {that a} jury ought to contemplate.
Johnson stated she noticed the lawsuit as an effort to silence her and different dad and mom who spoke out in opposition to DEI applications.
She recalled going through an identical defamation declare simply days earlier than a 2021 college board election, calling it a politically timed try and 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 advised Fox Information Digital. “They’d preserve going after dad and mom like me.”
She added that she hopes the ruling encourages different dad and mom to talk out in opposition to “radical ideologies” in public faculties with out worry of being sued.
“This units authorized precedent,” she stated. “Dad and mom in every single place can communicate the reality about what’s taking place of their faculties 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 fitting to query and criticize her authorities. The defamation lawsuit in opposition to her was meritless and may have been promptly dismissed. We’re happy that the Court docket agreed, and that Scarlett can put this distraction behind her,” he stated.
Fox Information Digital reached out to MacCudden’s legal professional, James McAlister, for remark however didn’t obtain a response.
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