Montana MassResistance: Bold Pastor Fights Against LGBT-Based Libel Lawsuit

 Free speech and free press under huge assault in Montana by LGBT legal network

Jordan Hall, Baptist pastor and publisher of popular conservative news site, sued for libel by transgender lobbyist

State’s left-wing legal establishment & well-funded LGBT “lawfare” mob seek to stop site’s influential voice

Far-left Judge to hold preliminary hearing Feb. 16 to determine whether pastor is a “dangerous person"

February 15, 2022

 Pastor Jordan Hall with his wife and five children.

A conservative pastor who is the publisher of Montana’s largest and most influential conservative news site is being sued for “libel” by a bizarre transgender lobbyist. The leftist judge assigned to the case is also threatening the pastor with fines and a gag order even before the trial takes place.

This assault on free speech and free press is buttressed by the state’s far-left legal establishment and appears to be funded by the wealthy LGBT and Planned Parenthood lobby. The aggressive legal action, including an invasive “discovery” process of the pastor’s media operation, is clearly aimed to put the conservative news site and its subsidiary voices out of business. The radicals would even like to dictate what the pastor may say in his own church.

Background

Montana Democrats are still reeling from the Republican blowout victory in the 2020 election. Republicans now have a super-majority in both houses of the Legislature, and hold the Governorship and all statewide offices (Attorney General, Secretary of State, Supervisor of Public Instruction, Auditor).

 The Montana Capitol building in Helena

Paradoxically, the judiciary in Montana is dominated by leftists. The state’s only law school is at the very liberal University of Montana and the state’s lawyers – and thus the judges – are far more left-wing than the general population.

Just as in DC back in 2016, the Democrats’ response to the Republican sweep has been to lash out wildly. Leftist attorneys are using the liberal courts in Montana to challenge conservative bills passed in the 2021 legislative session (pro-life laws, the ban on transgender boys in girls’ sports, strengthening parents’ rights, reining in sex ed, strengthening election law, and banning discrimination on the basis of vaccination status). They are also contesting Attorney General Knudsen’s and Supervisor of Public Instruction Arntzen’s policies banning Critical Race Theory and declaring masks optional in schools.

One news site stands out

As in other conservative areas, the news media across the state is also horribly left-wing. The one prominent exception is the Montana Daily Gazette, published by Jordan (“JD”) Hall, who is also a Baptist minister. The Gazette is bold and straight-shooting, with a down-to-earth style – and is definitely not “PC.” It has caught the attention of Montanans tired of the other news outlets. On many days, the Gazette often claims the highest readership of any news source in Montana. Some say its fearless reporting contributed to the Republican sweep in the 2020 election.

Hall is also very influential in Montana through his other conservative Christian media. He runs the well-respected religious blog Protestia, the podcast Pulpit & Pen, and a radio station. He shares Christian truth without reservation.

While many conservatives are becoming reluctant to speak out publicly on hot-button issues, Pastor Hall is fearless – and has definitely become a thorn in the side of the Left in Montana.

Bizarre transgender lobbyist in the Montana Capitol

Adrian Jawort identifies as “transgender” and is a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. He is also a registered lobbyist in the Montana legislature. He is quite a sight in that building. As his own attorneys describe him:

Adrian is physically distinctive: Native American, transgender, 6’3” in heels, always dressed in black dresses and hosiery, her [sic] black hair trimmed short on the sides with curls falling down her [sic] forehead.

 Mr. Jawort dressed for his pro-transgender lobbying at the Montana Capitol in 2021. He was especially angry over the bill to outlaw “transgender” surgical procedures for minors and the bill (now law) to ban transgender boys from girls’ sports. (Photo from Hall’s May 3, 2021 Gazette column)

In the 2021 session, Jawort lobbied against the (successful) bill banning “transgender” boys in girls’ sports, and the (failed) bill to ban surgical procedures to “transition” minors.

His demeanor and antics around the Capitol are infamous. According to Hall, Jawort and another transgender activist simulated sodomy in the Supreme Court chambers until told by security to leave.

 Photo in Hall’s report: Jawort (2nd from left) and friends in the Montana Supreme Court chambers.

Legislators were familiar with Jawort’s “torrent of obscene, angry social media posts that he published throughout the 2021 legislative session” (according to a court filing by Hall). Luckily, Hall took screen shots of some of those posts before Jawort deleted them.

We have been told that at first many legislators did not know Jawort was a lobbyist, but assumed he was a homeless man wandering around the building. Not surprisingly, “numerous legislators” had contacted Hall with concerns about Jawort’s lobbying style.

The incident

On April 22, 2021, one of the most controversial transgender bills of the legislative session, HB 112 (the bill barring transgender male students from participating on female sports teams), was scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor. Six or seven transgender activists, including Jawort, converged on the Montana Capitol that day to try to halt its passage. According to a court filing, Jawort made clear earlier in the day that he would vigorously lobby Senators to vote against HB 112.

Eyewitnesses later contacted Hall to report that Jawort and his cohorts, wearing Covid masks and makeup, encountered legislators in the Capitol hallways. Allegedly, there was some abusive language directed at the legislators, and one of them, an elderly Senator, had to be escorted away to avoid the disturbance.

The Montana Daily Gazette coverage – and alleged libel

Before publishing his report on the event, Jordan Hall contacted Jawort asking to get his side of the story. But Jawort refused to talk with him.

On May 3, 2021, the Montana Daily Gazette published Hall’s article, Who’s the Gothic Transvestite Haunting the Halls of the Montana Capitol? It did not hold back in its general description of Jawort, culled from the numerous phone calls Hall had received:

Fooling precisely no one, the man has been seen wandering the Montana State Capitol like an out-of-place Sasquatch in goth make-up, looking for a snack or someone to yell at. The ill-tempered, dress-wearing man was regularly seen in the gallery of both the House and Senate, chastising legislators with his wagging, giant man fingers, and sitting in fish-net stockings reapplying his make-up with all the precision of a birthday clown with a bad hangover.

The article also included these two profane quotes from Jawort’s social media posts:

Fascist fucks. Tomorrow I will file paperwork likely leading to a lawsuit challenging one of the many anti-trans bills. My reward will be seeing my name dragged through the mud. Being mocked by good Christians and doxxed…

Fight the power of the State of Montana. Fuck your #Montaliban theocracy. I am not a political pawn in a chess game–someone to be used for ‘culture war’ clout and fodder. I am a fucking Indigenous Queen of these Indian Lands.

Regarding the confrontation with legislators, the Gazette article simply had two sentences:

Reportedly, the angry transvestite and several of his associates had cornered Senator Butch Gillespie in an angry tirade. Also reportedly, Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy escorted Sen. Gillespie to the Sergeant of Arms for his protection.

Those two sentences are now at the center of the huge lawsuit. They would seem rather innocuous, especially given the larger context.

Jawort ignites over the article – files failed lawsuit

On July 12, 2021, Jawort filed a complaint against Hall in Richland County Court (where Hall’s hometown of Sidney is located). He demanded monetary damages for Hall’s “transphobic” statements and for supposedly “doxing” him (though Hall had included only publicly available information from Jawort’s public Facebook or tweets).

But there is no such crime as “transphobia” in Montana law (or US law), and the case went nowhere. Nevertheless, Jawort set up a GoFundMe page for his attempted lawsuit charging “transphobic hate speech.”

 Partial screen shot of Jawort’s GoFundMe page (accessed 2-13-22)

A new lawsuit – alleging libel

Soon after that, Jawort connected with a group of well-heeled leftist attorneys willing to take on his case. He is now being represented by Attorney Raph Graybill and two attorneys at the Upper Seven Law firm, Constance Van Kley and Rylee Sommers-Flanagan. Graybill is a well-known Montana attorney who recently ran for state Attorney General (losing 59%-41%). The Upper Seven Law firm is a social-justice group apparently set up for cases like this. All three attorneys clerked at the left-leaning Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The attorneys re-filed the case and changed the charge to libel. They are focusing only on the two sentences cited above: "Reportedly, the angry transvestite and several of his associates had cornered Senator Butch Gillespie in an angry tirade. Also reportedly, Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy escorted Sen. Gillespie to the Sergeant of Arms for his protection." 

They are claiming that Jawort was not present at that confrontation – not part of the group that accosted the legislators – so these are false, libelous statements. They assert that since the group was wearing masks, it was only assumed that Jawort was one of them. They are seeking $250,000 in damages from Hall.

The claim of libel would not appear to hold much water: (1) Hall’s article said only that Jawort was “reportedly” part of the group. That is not a false statement. (2) Despite a mask, Jawort is a very recognizable figure – a 6’3” man wearing a black dress with a distinctive voice. (3) Hall attempted to get Jawort’s side of the story, but Jawort refused. (4) By any sensible legal definition, Jawort is a “limited public figure” which in Montana requires a high standard for libel. (5) Hall relied on credible sources who identified Jawort as the individual who accosted the Senator, and as a credentialed journalist he does not have to reveal these sources.

The arguments put forth in Jawort’s lawyers’ filings appear to be very weak and amateurish, though strongly worded. Thus, in a normal court this would get very far. But this isn’t a normal situation at all.

Judge shopping

Through a series of events, Jawort’s lawyers were able to get the case heard in a different county under a judge, Elizabeth Best, who is arguably the most ruthlessly left-wing in the state. She is notorious among Montanans for her leftist judicial activism. (A Change.org petition has 2,325 signatures calling for her removal from the bench.)

 Judge Elizabeth Best [Great Falls Tribune photo]

Judicial bias and enormous legal harassment

Judge Best has not hidden her disdain for Pastor Hall. In one court ruling, she characterized his article as using “an offensive and ignorant epithet used by transphobic people, obviously aimed at demeaning Jawort.” Thus, the judge is accusing him of ignorance and “transphobia” – and even before the trial, exposes her belief that Hall intended to demean (libel) Jawort.

She has ruled that Jawort is not a “limited public figure,” and that the confrontation incident had no connection to Jawort’s work as a lobbyist. This means that the plaintiff does not have to prove “malice,” just “negligence” on Hall’s part.

Judge Best has allowed Jawort’s lawyers to conduct an enormous amount of legal harassment against Hall, mostly in for form of incredibly aggressive “discovery” demands, almost on a daily basis. Jawort’s lawyers are demanding records and other information on virtually everything about the Montana Daily Gazette business, plus extensive information about everyone who works there. He’s being told to provide his text messages and emails going back years on every person he’s contacted. He must provide copies of every sermon he has given, every manuscript he has written, and even his sermon and public speaking notes. Objections to this by Hall’s lawyer have been overruled by Judge Best. (Moreover, it is well known that Best is close friends with Graybill, Jawort's lawyer.)

It's been estimated that Jawort's legal team has already spent over $150,000 on this case - and the trial hasn't even begun.

Christian verses certainly anger this fellow. The Satanic horns, inverted cross on his forehead, and blood dripping from his mouth indicate where he’s coming from. (Photo: Jawort’s public Facebook page)

Special hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 16 to determine if Hall is a “threat” to public order

Pastor Hall’s actual trial hasn’t been scheduled. But Judge Best is conducting a special hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 16, to determine if Hall is a “threat” to public order.

Over the past few months, Hall has traveled around the state giving speeches in order to raise money for his legal defense. His lawyer says he will need a minimum of $100,000. His speeches are mostly to Christian groups. Being a Baptist pastor, Hall uses a lot of Bible quotes and Christian imagery. Jawort’s lawyers are charging – and Judge Best seems to be agreeing – that these speeches somehow constitute “threats” to the plaintiff, the judge, and others. (Of course, Hall has no history whatsoever of threats or violence.) The judge is prepared to impose extreme sanctions on Hall over this.

 Pastor Hall at a rally at the Montana Capitol in Helena. (Photo: Brandi Lyon)

Best is also angry that Hall is reluctant to follow her “mask mandate” in the courtroom. Montana has no mask mandates whatsoever at this time, and it is very questionable whether Best has the authority to impose one.

According to information we have, Best has likely decided to impose both judicial and financial sanctions at the hearing on Wednesday. The judicial sanctions could include a gag order or other limitations. The financial sanctions could be a fine anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's also likely she could declare a default judgment against him, so a trial would not even be held.

This is the frightening state of affairs in the supposedly “red” state of Montana. We will report on what happens at the hearing.

Final thoughts

Throughout all this, the thing that has saddened Pastor Hall the most, he told us, is the number of conservative Christian pastors who have shied away from publicly supporting him. It’s not that they think he’s wrong. They privately admit that they are “afraid” of the LGBT movement and the power of the state. As one pastor told him, “I just can’t have them picketing my church.”

God Bless Jordan Hall. We need a thousand more like him. You can donate to his legal defense fund here.

   

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Campaign Life Coalition, Canada: Social Conservatives Only

 

Dear Arthur, With the political demise of Erin O’Toole, the flip-flopping, authoritarian Conservative Party Leader, there is a renewed sense of hope among Conservative Party members about who might replace him. For the first time in a long time, Conservatives are genuinely excited. At the moment, MP Pierre Poilievre is the perceived front-runner in the upcoming Leadership contest to replace the pro-abortion O’Toole, and the only one who has officially jumped into the race. Campaign Life Coalition has been receiving a steady stream of inquiries from our pro-life supporters about Poilievre, the MP for Carleton. Hopeful excitement is expressed by many, especially in light of his recent support for the freedom truckers and their demand to end all mandates related to the abortion-tainted COVID injections. “Can we get behind Poilievre?” “Where does he stand on life issues?”, they ask. There’s no doubt that on financial matters, Poilievre is a skilled eviscerator of Liberals. In Question Period, he has made Justin Trudeau and his Finance Minister look like fools on economic questions. On that basis, he’d make a good Finance Minister in a Conservative government. However, we cannot endorse him for Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) because Poilievre is pro-abortion. Above: Pierre Poilievre, MP for Kanata-Carleton (Source: Facebook) Tragically, he abandoned his past pro-life beliefs during the previous leadership race when he was considering running, deciding that the “pro-life” label was no longer useful. In January 2020, he promised the Quebec newspaper, La Presse, that under his leadership, no pro-life legislation would ever be introduced by a Poilievre government. He even went further, reassuring the left-wing outlet that even a private members bill would never be adopted. In the same interview, he abandoned his long-time support for the natural definition of marriage and family, telling La Presse: “I support gay marriages. Period. I voted against 15 years ago. But I learned a lot, like millions and millions of people across Canada and around the world. I find that gay marriage is a success.” MP Poilievre has since followed through on his comforting reassurances to the media, with concrete actions. On June 2, 2021, he voted against MP Cathay Wagantall’s common-sense private members bill (C-233) to criminalize sex-selective abortions. Then, on June 22, 2021, he voted in favour of Bill C-6, a so-called “conversion therapy” ban to advance LGBT ideology and criminalize Christians who adhere to biblical sexuality – even jailing parents up to five years if they dare to affirm their gender-confused children in the biological bodies in which they were born! To view Campaign Life’s official rating for Pierre Poilievre as an MP, click here. Campaign Life Coalition will only endorse leadership candidates who are pro-life. If a pro-abortion candidate like Poilievre offers meaningful policy commitments to social conservatives, (e.g. free votes on matters of conscience, ending Canadian taxpayer funding of overseas abortions), we’ll give them due credit. However, we won't be able to green light them. And neither should pro-life CPC members, nor pro-life MPs, give their endorsement to pro-abortion candidates. Who can pro-lifers support? So far, Poilievre is the only candidate to officially declare his intention to run, but we expect there’ll be others. We’re hoping that pro-life MP Dr. Leslyn Lewis will also throw her hat in the ring. Lewis won the popular vote in the previous leadership race, getting more votes on the second ballot than even Erin O’Toole, but losing in the end because of his stronger performance in points-rich Quebec ridings. She polls well - even today - among Conservative members, even though she has not yet declared. Above: Leslyn Lewis, MP for Haldimand—Norfolk (Source: Wikipedia) Since the previous leadership contest, Dr. Lewis has continued to be an advocate for the sanctity of life. She spoke out strongly against Justin Trudeau’s plan to strip pro-life crisis pregnancy centres of their charitable tax status, and attended a rally organized by Campaign Life Coalition on November 24th to save those life-giving centres from Trudeau’s wrath. Leslyn Lewis is a candidate we would happily endorse. Campaign Life Coalition is also encouraging other pro-lifers to consider running, but we cannot reveal their names at this time. We do hope there will end up being at least two candidates who can appeal to values voters like you and me. Anticipating the emergence of supportable candidates, CLC is encouraging you to join or renew your membership in the Conservative Party by clicking here. Who else is running? Others who’ve indicated they’re considering it include Quebec cinema mogul, Vincenzo Guzzo, and journalist Tasha Kheiriddin. Guzzo owns the Cinemas Guzzo chain along with other businesses and joined the Dragon’s Den TV show in season 13 and 14. He recently tweeted that there’s a 70% chance he'll seek the CPC Leadership. Above: Vincenzo Guzzo (Source: Wikipedia) While Guzzo’s stance on the right to life is not yet known, it’s notable that in 2019 his was the only cinema chain in Canada that didn't censor the pro-life motion picture, Unplanned, from being screened. Unplanned tells the story of Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood abortion facility manager turned pro-life activist. Guzzo took a principled position that it was wrong to censor the film just because some might disagree with pro-life views. In contrast, Cineplex and Landmark Cinemas put up major roadblocks to block the movie. Tasha Kheiriddin has been a columnist for numerous outlets including the National Post and Global News, and revealed she's also considering a run. Above: Tasha Kheiriddin, columnist/commentator (Source: Twitter) Kheiriddin is basically pro-abortion, arguing that while she finds some limits on abortion reasonable, it would be “indefensible” to ban all abortions. In 2013, she co-authored a book titled Rescuing Canada’s Right which claimed that in order to be successful, the Conservative Party would need to rid itself of traditional social conservatism. (Of course, we disagree with her thesis -- the opposite is true!) Since then, she has strongly criticized the Trudeau Liberals for inserting a pro-abortion attestation for employers to qualify in the Canada Summer Jobs program. CLC is also hearing credible rumours that the disgraced, former PC Party of Ontario Leader, Patrick Brown, will run. Above: Patrick Brown, Brampton Mayor (Source: Facebook) So-cons in Ontario will remember Brown’s painful betrayal and his transformation into a full-fledged liberal after winning the leadership on the promise of repealing Kathleen Wynne’s radical sex curriculum, only to turn around and endorse the sex program for early grades. Brown would be a carbon copy of O'Toole if he were to win. Social liberalism is the best predictor for future betrayal on small-c conservative principles A truism that every CPC voter should consider, whether a fiscal conservative, a so-con, a democratic conservative, or a libertarian – is that history has proven that politicians who are not grounded in strong moral values cannot be trusted to keep any of their promises, even economic ones. Just look at the example of Erin O’Toole. The pro-abortion MP promised to repeal the carbon tax, but after a bit of media pressure, and in the hope of winning some progressives votes, he came out with his very own carbon tax. Doug Ford is another prime example. The pro-abort PC Leader campaigned with the slogan “Ontario. Open For Business”. And then proceeded to lockdown businesses for 2 years, destroying thousands of small and family businesses in the process. The fact of the matter is that if you want to elect someone who will keep their promises, someone with tried-and-true integrity, you need to cast your ballot for a strong social conservative. In a sense, they’ve already proven their mettle, passing through the gauntlet of pain. Such an individual has already suffered the trials of media persecution for their beliefs, and is practised in hanging onto their core principles, whether moral or economic ones. The same cannot be said about social liberals who repeatedly shift to the left as soon as mainstream media pressure becomes too hot.  Or, even sooner, once the votes of small-c conservatives have secured them the leadership crown and those "little people" are no longer considered to be as valuable in the general election. We witnessed this dynamic with Andrew Scheer, Doug Ford and O’Toole who all reversed or abandoned the very same leadership promises which helped secure their victories. The fiscal conservative, democratic conservative and libertarian factions of the party’s base need to recognize that this inherent danger exists with Poilievre’s social liberalism. Why? A man who compromises on moral values can be too easily pushed to compromise on economic and freedom principles, also. To look at it another way – if you’re willing to go along with the child murder of abortion, for political gain, how much more easily might you embrace leftist economic policy for a perceived political gain? On that note, why did it take two years for Poilievre to come out against tyrannical vaccine mandates and lockdowns? And only after the huge freedom convoy arrived on parliament's doorstep, showing it had the numbers to be a political powerhouse? Judging by the number of inquiries CLC is receiving from pro-lifers excited about Poilievre’s run, this is a warning that our own supporters must heed as well, along with pro-life Conservative MP’s, many of whom backed a pro-abortion candidate in the last leadership race despite the presences of viable so-cons. We encourage you to pray that Leslyn Lewis and other strong pro-lifers will enter the CPC Leadership race, giving us a choice we can believe in. In the meantime, don’t forget to become an eligible voter in the CPC leadership race by joining or renewing your membership. For life & family, Jack Fonseca Director of Political Operations Campaign Life Coalition P.S. For a web-based version of this email that you can share on social media, click here.

Action 4 Canada: Stand up to Dictator Prime Minister and Premier of Canada

 

Protecting Faith, Family and Freedom	‌

Dear Arthur, Action4Canada is committed to giving the silent majority a voice through Call to Action campaigns. Please join us in the following ongoing campaigns against Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford. The pressure is building through opposition and it is important to maintain it. As the House of COVID falls, the tyrants are desperately trying to ignore reality and hold onto power. They don’t care about how foolish or hypocritical they sound or look. They are ravenously devoted to the global agenda and they are willing to go the distance. However, their ship is sinking, the rats are dispersing and Trudeau and Ford are heading down a path of no return. Justice is coming and WILL prevail.   Let’s Start with Trudeau and the Liberal MPs URGENT!!! Please continue to apply pressure to the Liberal MPs. It is critically important to demand they remove Trudeau as leader of the party and then resign. These MPs have have aided and abetted Trudeau for two years (and longer) and are complicit to treason. Three liberal MPs have spoken out against Trudeau since Action4Canada commenced the letter writing/Call to Action campaign against the MPs two weeks ago. The massive public display of peaceful protest and opposition, initiated by the truckers, has ALL MPs frightfully aware that the gig is up and self-preservation is taking over as the MPs turn on their leader, and their party, in an effort to protect themselves from being criminally charged. Read More and Take ACTION!   Is there Repentance or Just Confession?   Joël Lightbound, a backbench lawmaker from Justin Trudeau’s own caucus, is accusing the prime minister of dividing and stigmatizing Canadians by politicizing vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. Lightbound did not mince words when he called out Trudeau: “Both the tone and the policies of my government changed drastically on the eve, and during the last election campaign,” said Lightbound, who convened a press conference to deliver his message. “A decision was made to wedge, to divide and to stigmatize. I fear that this politicization of the pandemic risks undermining the public’s trust in our public health institutions.” The timing of Lightbound’s press release is interesting, don’t you think?   Doug Ford: Hypocrite Extraordinaire Do as I Say, Not as I Do Whilst Ottawa was “under siege” by Trudeau’s fringe majority, our “leaders” were so concerned that Trudeau was reported to have gone skiing and Doug Ford was off snowmobiling in cottage country. And what was Ford’s response when called out on it? He had nothing but excuses. Ontarians have lost their livelihoods, loved ones, and their freedom but Ford couldn’t care less. He is more interested in manifesting a fake narrative of a “City Under Siege” in a desperate effort to finish what he signed up for. So what does Ford do next? He deceitfully declares a state of emergency to end the ‘siege/illegal occupation” in Ottawa and Windsor. “Fines for non-compliances will be severe”, the premier said, “with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year in prison”. Let’s put things into perspective: the protest is peaceful; the streets are being cleaned; crime is down by 90%; the homeless are being cared for; and there is laughter, kindness and dancing in the streets. What is there to justify Ford’s State of Emergency? There is no crime being committed, nothing has been set on fire or blown up, no one is being murdered and there is no vandalism. So let’s get busy and take some more action! Contact Doug Ford premier@ontario.ca and every one of his MPPs and request they cease and desist their illegal response toward law abiding peaceful protesters. https://www.ola.org/en/members/current Share this Action! Remember: Freedom of speech, thought, belief and the right to life, liberty and security of the person are guaranteed. We do not need to beg, barter or ask for them…they are ours for the taking. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to help Action4Canada continue to bring solutions and hope to the nation! God bless you and God bless Canada! The Team @ Action4Canada

Wyoming MassResistance Forces Out RINO Pro-LGBT Commissioner

 

Taking it to the politicians: Wyoming County Commissioner resigns after pressure from MassResistance parents over obscene library books.

He had compared local parents to Nazis. Railed about parents’ “ignorance and hate.”

An arrogant pro-LGBT liberal who got elected in a conservative area.

A new pro-family Commissioner has been voted in to take his place!

February 9, 2022

 County Commissioner Daniel Reardon stares at parents and compares them to Nazis during Aug. 12, 2021 meeting, because of their adamant objections to the pornographic books for children and young teenagers.

When it comes to arrogant anti-family public officials, parents don’t have to just sit and take it. But they have to be willing to take a very strong stand and be persistent.

Like most areas in Wyoming, Campbell County is quite conservative. But unfortunately, liberals and RINOs have been elected to key positions. Last summer, local MassResistance parents began complaining to their County Commission about the pornographic and obscene LGBT books for children and teenagers appearing in the public library. Some of the graphic homosexual books for young teenagers are sickening even for adults.

This Book is Gay
by James Dawson
In library's Teen section

SUMMARY: This book is pornographic and truly obscene. All forms of “gay” and “lesbian” sexual practices and perversions are endorsed and celebrated with graphic instructions for teenagers. It promotes medically unsafe behaviors and perversions and is filled with false information.

Read sample pages here. (CAUTION: obscene material.)

The Library Board, which the County Commission controls, is run by leftists. But the five-member County Commission was stacked 3-2 against doing anything to challenge the Board.

A particularly hostile Commissioner

One County Commissioner, Daniel G. Reardon, was particularly hostile to the idea of shielding children from obscenity and LGBT pornography.

On July 13, Reardon sent an email to a constituent smearing the parents who had objected to a “transgender” performing for young children at the library. He wrote, “It is a sad state of affairs where we regress back to the Matthew Shepard days because of ignorance of hate.” When this became public, parents were livid.

Then on August 12 during a County Commission meeting, Reardon suddenly launched into an angry rant against the parents in the room.

He started out by defending library staff and their bureaucratic “processes that are in place” for selecting the books and allowing for parents to fill out forms to “challenge” books. He said that the Commission’s job is to support the Library Board.

He went on to say that “censoring” LGBT books (i.e., homosexual pornography) was equivalent to censoring books on guns, the military, blacks, or religions other than Christianity.

Then he really went off the rails. It’s the parents who are not doing their jobs, he said. It’s the parents’ fault for not supervising what their children are reading in the library. He said that parents need to “stop talking about censoring, taking books out, burning books, and going back to the days of the Nazis.”

An audience member angrily yelled back at Reardon that he was lying about the parents. Reardon had a Sheriff’s officer escort the man out of the room. He then looked right at the parents and scolded them, “Don’t tell us we’re not doing our job. We are doing our job.”

 After the audience member yelled back at Reardon, the sheriff's deputy immediately came to eject him from the room.

Parents fight back!

Reardon clearly intended to intimidate and silence the Wyoming MassResistance parents. But his tirade had the opposite effect.

Our activists made sure that the community heard about Reardon’s offensive remarks. They got the message out on social media.

They leafletted the community:

They continued to come to every County Commission meeting and Library Board meeting to demand that the local children be protected from the library staff’s promotion of obscenity and pornography. Though the Commission’s 3-2 majority refused to do the right thing, they were clearly being worn down.

In October they voted to ban all public comment to keep the parents from being able to complain at the Commission meetings. Of course, this just riled the parents up even more.

Reardon announces his resignation

On January 5, 2022, without prior notice, Reardon delivered a letter of resignation to the Campbell County Commission.

His “official” reason was that he had moved to another community (Cheyenne). However, as he told the local newspaper, his family had moved to Cheyenne some time earlier, and he had rented an apartment in Campbell County and was spending more than half of his time there. (It’s not required to live in the County to serve on the County Commission.) He also cited his fear of COVID, though did not elaborate. Reardon said that he had “intended to serve his full term” through 2022, but changed his mind and decided to resign now.

This came just weeks after the Library Board Chairman had also suddenly announced her resignation, although she will continue to serve as a regular Board member.

A new pro-family Commissioner gets voted in!

Since Reardon was technically a Republican (though an insufferable RINO), the process for replacing him was for the local Republican Central Committee to nominate three people, and the Commissioners would vote to accept one of them.

The Commissioners apparently got the message from the outraged parents. At the Jan. 27 Commission meeting, they selected Don Hamm as the new Commissioner. According to the parents who met with the candidates, Hamm was right on their wavelength regarding the library problems.

 Don Hamm (center) is congratulated after becoming the new County Commissioner. [Gillette News Record photo]

To start with, the parents are now expecting the Commission to repeal the offensive ban on public comment, when one of the family-friendly Commissioners also becomes the new Chairman this month. And there’s talk of even bigger changes.

Final thoughts

We may sound like a broken record, but we’ll say it again: These people running our libraries and the politicians who support them have neither morals nor conscience. They know what they’re doing to children and are proud of it. Too many conservatives more interested in appearing reasonable and polite than standing up for the truth. But this gains them nothing. The best way: Be resolute and don’t give up.

   

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Wyoming MassResistance: Standing Up to Rude, Abusive Library Board

 

Wyoming County Library Board passes hostile (and illegal) public comments policy, then uses it to terminate meeting

Board shuts down citizen’s appeal vs. inappropriate children’s book. Claim speaker was "disrespectful."

Follows resignation of Library Board Chairman – after months of Wyoming MassResistance pressure

Board members continue to side with Library Director against parents

Community pressure continues

February 1, 2022

 New Library Board Chairman Charlie Anderson (center) reads aloud his proposed "public comment policy" at the Dec. 20 meeting.

These days, radical public library officials will do almost anything – even break the law – to intimidate and discourage citizens from attempting to stop their abuses against children. In Campbell County, Wyoming, MassResistance community activists have been relentlessly taking a stand to stop their public library officials from foisting LGBT pornography and other inappropriate books on young children and teens.

But our activists are learning that relentless pressure pays off.

Library Board chairman steps down

On Dec. 20, 2021, the Campbell County Library Board opened their meeting with a new chairman, Charlie Anderson.

His predecessor, Dr. Hollie Stewart, had abruptly resigned as chairman soon after the November meeting but continues to serve as a Board member. According to people we spoke to, she had been complaining bitterly to members of the County Commission about having to run Board meetings with the ongoing anger from Wyoming MassResistance parents over the offensive children’s books.

 Left to right: Library Board members Mandy Steward, Miranda Finn, former chairman Dr. Hollie Stewart, Nancy Stovall, and new chairman Charlie Anderson.

Odious new “public comment” policy

Anderson’s first action as new chairman was to introduce a new restrictive “public comment” policy. This high-handed tactic is being used across the country by public officials to insulate themselves from the outrage brought on by their arrogant actions.

Anderson read his proposed policy aloud. (See our transcription here.) It states that public comment at meetings is not a legal right, but a privilege granted by the Board. The policy was developed after (supposed) “personal attacks directed at this Board.”

The policy bans “inappropriate comments or behavior.” Inappropriate behavior is defined as “attempting to engage individual Board members in conversation” and “insults.”  It also lists “obscenities, or profanity and/or physical violence or any threat thereof” as well as “attacks against any person in their personal capacity” (which is unclear). But to imply that concerned parents would engage in profanity, physical violence, or threats is absurd.

The policy outlines a series of steps for enforcement: (1) The chairman rules the speaker out of order. (2) If the behavior continues, the speaker will be asked to leave. (3) If inappropriate conduct continues, the chairman may “entertain a motion to end public comment and adjourn the meeting.” It also limits speakers in public comment to three minutes, an absurdly short time for that kind of body.

Anderson said that he and Sean Brown, the (liberal) assistant County Attorney jointly put together the policy. (Perhaps they were inspired by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memo casting parents who dare to speak up as domestic terrorists.)

The Library Board unanimously approved the policy.

Illegal under Wyoming Law?

It would certainly appear that this policy is illegal under Wyoming law. Wyoming statute 16-4-406 states that in the event of “disruption of public meetings” a body may (a) have the person or persons removed and continue the session; or (b) recess the meeting and reconvene to another location and continue with the agenda. It does not give the option of simply adjourning the meeting. But like most leftists, Charlie Anderson and Sean Brown decided to devise their own set of rules.

Using new policy to suddenly shut down the meeting!

On the Dec. 20 meeting’s agenda were appeals to the Library Board by local citizens. They sought to remove four books whose challenges had been rejected by the library staff.

We’ve already reported on the appeal of the first book Trans Mission, a sickening, pornographic LGBT book for teenagers that the Board nevertheless voted to keep in the shelves.

The other three books were being appealed by Kevin, the son of two great Wyoming MassResistance activists. Kevin got right to work.

His first appeal was on the book, The Babysitter’s Coven. Following the trend of anti-Christian children’s books, it is a slick teenagers’ introduction to occult and satanic beliefs and symbolism which encourages teenagers to explore further. (It’s no wonder so many young people are drawn into Satanism.) The plot also includes a man abducting girls and holding them in a basement. It encourages underage drinking and drug use (two issues affecting teenagers in Campbell County). This portrayal of repulsive people who do nasty things has no redeeming value.

Even the book cover is weird.

Kevin described how reviewers – which the library uses in their “collection” process – were not impressed by this book. He quoted one mainstream reviewer saying, “I am not really comfortable recommending a young teen to read this book.”

 Kevin begins his presentation of "The Babysitter's Coven" to the Board on Dec. 20 as local parents seated behind him look on.

A few minutes into Kevin’s presentation, some of the Board members were clearly getting uncomfortable. They rudely started interrupting Kevin. Charlie Anderson grilled him about Lord of the Rings, a book that was not relevant to the conversation. It seemed like a hostile cross-examination. Then Anderson started berating him for bringing up the book reviews. When Kevin started to answer him, Board member Miranda Finn suddenly jumped in:

Charlie Anderson: I was hoping you’d talk about the book that we’re here to discuss.

Kevin: That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m using data and sources to back up what I’m saying so I’m not just bubbling effervescent from my face here. I’m trying to actually use some facts here.

Miranda Finn: Mr. Chairman, we’ve reached the point where disrespect is being displayed. I move to adjourn the meeting.

Immediately then, Anderson called for a vote to adjourn. There were four “Aye” votes. (He did not ask if there were any “Nay” votes. Mandy Steward later told him that she was a “Nay” vote.) Anderson quickly declared the meeting adjourned.

A violation of the policy they had just passed

This was in violation of the policy they had just passed! Before adjourning the meeting, they should have first (1) ruled Kevin out of order, then (2) asked him to leave. They did neither.

Also, the basis of the adjournment was that “disrespect is being displayed” by Kevin. But “disrespect” is not part of their definition of inappropriate behavior. Kevin did not actually violate anything.

All this shows how contemptible and loathsome these people are.

At the January Board meeting Kevin was allowed to continue

At the January 24, 2022 meeting of the Library Board, the arrogance continued. But Kevin’s persistence clearly had them rattled, and he was not letting up.

At the beginning of the meeting, Kevin requested that they read the Wyoming statute on “disruption of public meetings” which clearly contradicts their new policy. Anderson asked one of the staff members to read it aloud. The staffer did, but the Board didn’t react at all and just continued with their meeting.

They allowed Kevin to finish his three book appeals. The other two books were A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities and Music from Another World. Both books intend to draw young teenagers into homosexuality. They portray homosexual relationships and sex as normal and very desirable.

This time the Board let Kevin finish his presentations. Immediately afterwards, the Board allowed the Library Director to deliver a “rebuttal” to Kevin’s appeal. Much of that was the boilerplate text from her previous rebuttal in December.

Then, to no one’s surprise, the Board voted 4-1 to reject all of Kevin’s appeal, with Mandy Steward being the holdout.

And then came public comment - parents blast Board!

The Board was not in the clear yet. They got pummeled during the public comment section.

Citizen after citizen got up and blasted the Board for doing nothing to get rid of the terrible books, and the staff who have been selecting the books. One woman pointed out that the efforts of the Wyoming MassResistance team are inspiring other people around the country to press forward, demand answers from their local libraries, and get harmful books removed. At one point, a woman who identified herself as a retired librarian pointed out that the local newspaper has applauded the Library Director. Kevin got up and reminded her that the newspaper differs from the community on most issues, including this.

 This woman talked about being part of Wyoming MassResistance and travelling around the state, and that people knew about this battle: “I hear some positive stories and it’s so exciting. Because of us, people have taken on their own libraries. And they’re getting things done! Books are being removed!" she said.

Final thoughts

Decades ago, most states across the country passed laws exempting schools, libraries, and museums from laws banning obscenity (as harmful to minors). This was done in the interest of protecting legitimate artwork that sometimes portrayed nudity. But now, radical staff members and public officials are using that as cover to push pornography onto children in schools and libraries. (Attempts to overturn these laws in some states have been strongly opposed by teachers’ unions and LGBT groups.)

Regarding the issue of “disrespecting” officials: In a famous 1964 case (New York Times v Sullivan) the US Supreme Court opined that America has a "profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."

When public officials declare that they and their actions are above criticism by ordinary citizens, we all need to get very upset. These people have no morals and no conscience. They deserve parents’ disrespect. We will certainly not be intimidated by them.

There’s a lot more to come from Campbell County, Wyoming!

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!