A Wisconsin mom who was sued for defamation after calling an English teacher woke has won her free speech case.
Mother-of-five Scarlett Johnson took to social media in October 2022 to criticize Mary MacCudden for serving as Mequon-Thiensville School District’s social justice coordinator.
‘Why the hell am I paying for a “Social Justice Coordinator” in my school district?’ Johnson tweeted alongside a screenshot of MacCudden’s LinkedIn profile.
‘This is just what @mtschools needs; more woke, White women w/ a god complex. Thank you, White savior.’
Johnson, who is affiliated with education lobby group Moms for Liberty, in other social media posts, also referred to DEI specialists as ‘woke lunatics’ who ‘bully’ parents ‘into silence and compliance’.
MacCudden, who had resigned from her position at Homestead High School in January 2022, filed a defamation suit against Johnson in response.
She won her case against Johnson in lower court, but the Moms for Liberty activist’s legal team appealed the ruling.
The Wisconsin appeals court on Tuesday ruled to reverse the circuit courts ruling after determining that her statements ‘do not constitute defamation’.
Moms for Liberty activist Scarlett Johnson has won her defamation case after being sued by former English teacher Mary MacCudden who she publicly branded as ‘woke’
Mary MacCudden won her case against Johnson in lower court, but the Moms for Liberty activist’s legal team appealed the ruling
MacCudden resigned from the school district in January 2022 but did not update her LinkedIn profile, according to a press release from Johnson’s lawyers.
Roughly 10 months later, Johnson discovered the profile, which listed MacCudden as the district’s ‘Social Justice Coordinator’, and started criticizing the district online.
MacCudden responded with a defamation suit, which went to trial.
An appeals court has now ruled Johnson did not defame the former teacher because her statements ‘cannot be proven true or false.’
‘Free speech belongs to every mom, dad, and citizen who demands answers and accountability from their government,’ Johnson said in a statement by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL).
‘I am grateful that WILL stood alongside me in this legal battle. Parents across the country are speaking out against radical ideology in our schools, and our fight does not stop today.’
Johnson’s lawyers argued that while Johnson’s social media posts were ‘pervasive’, her words were ‘more restrained than a lot of online speech’.
Her legal counsel added that her posts could not be defamatory because they were ‘statements of opinion that are not provably false’.
Johnson took to social media in October 2022 to criticize Mary MacCudden for serving as Mequon-Thiensville School District’s social justice coordinator
MacCudden resigned from the school district in January 2022 but had not updated her LinkedIn profile (file photo)
The appeals court ruled in her favor on Tuesday and ordered the circuit court to reverse its decision.
‘Scarlett, like all of us, has the right to question and criticize her government,’ her deputy counsel Luke Berg said. ‘The defamation lawsuit against her was meritless and should have been promptly dismissed.
‘We are pleased that the Court agreed and that Scarlett can put this distraction behind her.’
MacCudden’s attorney James McAlister told the Daily Caller that she and her team are ‘disappointed’ by the court’s decision.
He admitted the judge was right disagree with the lawyer court’s ruling that Johnson’s posts could be seen as statements of fact and not ‘constitutionally protected opinions.’
But added: ‘That said, I would note that Ms. Johnson contended a defamation trial would violate her First Amendment rights, and the Court of Appeals never addressed that First Amendment argument.’
Johnson appears happy with the outcome of her appeal and hopes her case will inspire other parents to speak out against ‘radical ideologies’ without fear
Johnson, however, appears happy with the outcome of her appeal and hopes her case will inspire other parents to speak out against ‘radical ideologies’ without fear.
‘I felt I had to fight back in this case. It couldn’t be like the other. I had to stand up because this would never stop,’ she told Fox News. ‘They’d keep going after parents like me.’
She added that her case ‘set legal precedent’ that will allow parents to ‘speak the truth about what’s happening in their schools’ without the fear of being sued.
Daily Mail has approached attorneys for Johnson and MacCudden for comment.
