Five weeks after Maine state representative Laurel Libby was censured for a social media post identifying a trans athlete, a free speech group has filed an amicus brief in support of her lawsuit to overturn the censure.
The free speech group FIRE, in its brief, argued against the basis of the censure, which was imposed by the Democrat majority and Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau.
“If political majorities can impose draconian sanctions on political minorities, then no viewpoint is safe. That’s no way to uphold America’s robust commitment to free and open political speech, and that’s why the First Amendment forbids officials from retaliating against dissenting views,” FIRE supervising senior attorney JT Morris told Fox News Digital.
Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby is sounding the alarm over the state’s defiance of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order demanding an end to biological males competing in women’s sports. (Getty/Maine House of Representatives)
The basis of Libby’s censure was that she made a post that identified a minor by name and photo when she called out a trans pole vaulter who won a girls’ competition for Greely High School. However, the trans athlete had already been publicized in other local media prior to Libby’s post.
The other media included a post on the Maine House Democrats’ website, the amicus brief alleges.
All of Maine’s federal judges have recused themselves from the case.
The judges, John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen, signed recusal orders on Tuesday, shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was provided for the judges’ recusal. The case has since been referred to the District of Rhode Island, according to multiple reports.
Fecteau, who passed the censure, is the main defendant in the lawsuit, alongside House of Representatives clerk Robert Hunt. The Maine Attorney General’s Office will represent Fecteau.
Libby’s lawsuit seeks to have her voting and speaking rights restored. Fecteau previously said Libby’s rights would be restored after she apologizes, which she does not intend to do. Libby told Fox News Digital in a previous interview that she encourages Fecteau to restore her rights to avoid taking the case to court and costing taxpayers the price of any potential litigation.
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Libby represents more than 9,000 constituents in Maine’s House District 90, and six of them have signed on to the lawsuit as plaintiffs, because the censure has impeded her ability to help carry out other legislative actions to serve those constituents.
On March 20, Libby was permitted to speak and present 10 amendments during a vote of the state’s bi-annual budget. One of those amendments was not related to the budget, but was a proposal to keep trans athletes out of girls’ sports.
However, when Libby did speak to present her amendments, multiple Democrats protested, instigating a debate with Republican representatives. Ultimately, Libby’s amendments were not even considered, and Democrats moved to have the amendments indefinitely postponed.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday a pause and an ongoing review of federal funding to Maine after the state refused to provide equal opportunities to women and girls in educational programs.
The state has refused to comply with President Donald Trump’s February executive order to ban trans athletes from girls and women’s sports, prompting immense federal pressure. Trump initially vowed to cut federal funding to the state if it refused to comply with the order during a Feb. 20 speech, days after Libby made her social media post.
More potential sanctions could be coming to the state in the next week.
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) on Monday, advising a final deadline of April 11 to address the issue or risk a second referral to the Department of Justice. The Department of Health and Human Services referred Maine to the DOJ last week.
A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed that it is “only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women.”
The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women’s and girls’ sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18.
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