Moms for Liberty

Moms for Loss of Liberty (also affectionately known as "Klanned Karenhood"'Klanned Karenhood': Philadelphians And Black Twitter Roast Conservative Moms For Liberty Group - Blavity or the "Minivan Taliban")"Education's Tea Party Has Arrived" by Robert Pondiscio, American Enterprise Institute, 2023 July 19 is an American far-right paleoconservative extremist group"Moms for Liberty among conservative groups named 'extremist' by civil rights watchdog" by Odette Yousef, NPR, 2023 June 7 whose concept of "liberty" is doublespeak for homophobic, transphobic, and racial hatred;"Moms for Liberty spreads its anti-LGBTQ+ hatred to the Northwest" by Lonnie Lusardo, Seattle Times, 2023 June 13"Moms Against Libraries: How a Discredited Psychological Theory Sparked a Book-Banning Movement" by Kiera Butler, Mother Jones, November-December 2022 edition"Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race" by Ali Swenson, Associated Press, 2023 June 12 book-banning;"Moms for Liberty, meet John Birch: the roots of US rightwing book bans" by Martin Pengelly, Guardian, 2023 May 6 and stripping any mention of racial diversity, sexual orientation, and gender identity from school libraries and curricula, under the bullshit pretense that such topics are "anti-American". They have forged ties with right-wing extremist groups including the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, sovereign citizen groups, QAnon blowhards, and Christian nationalists.David Gilbert, Inside Moms for Liberty’s Close Relationship With the Proud Boys. Archived from Vice, 20 June 2023.
As of June 2023, the group claims 120,000 active members across 44 states,"Moms for Liberty rises as power player in GOP politics after attacking schools over gender, race" by Ali Swenson, AP News, 2023 June 12 though some experts are skeptical about this claim."A group claiming to protect parents' rights in public schools is labeled as extremist" by Odette Yousef, NPR, 2023 June 6 Their mission statement claims that they are "dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government"."Who are the ‘joyful warriors’ of Moms for Liberty?" by Mya Jaradat, Deseret News, 2023 June 9 True to their doublespeak, the book-ban happy group claims that they are "constitutional" "patriots" who are fighting "anti-government overreach"."Charleston Co. Moms for Liberty chapter fights inclusion on hate group list" by Nick Reagan, WCSC 5, 2023 June 8
==Historical roots==
Moms for Liberty can be seen as an extension of far-right movements that date all the way back to the 1950s, such as the John Birch Society, who also advocated book bans under the guise of what they saw as "pornography" in school curricula. (Of course, the other of the Birchers, "commies", has been conveniently replaced by the all-purpose reactionary snarl word "woke".) In other words, it is not surprising that one Moms for Liberty website referenced the books of W. Cleon Skousen, and that the then-current editor of the Birch-connected periodical The New American, Alex Newman, made a presentation in a Florida Moms for Liberty meeting in 2021."This isn’t the first time Moms for Liberty has quoted Hitler" by Olivia Little, Media Matters, 2023 June 23LinkedIn company page for The New American Magazine, archived on 2023 June 24"Flagler Moms for Liberty Welcome Alex Newman", MomsForLiberty.org
Commentators have also noted parallels between Moms for Liberty and historical groups that advocated Lost Cause of the South whitewashing, such as Daughters of the Confederacy."The Next Generation United Daughters of the Confederacy: Book Censorship News, April 28, 2023" by Kelly Jensen, Bookriot, 2023 April 28 Some commentators, likewise, see Moms for Liberty as an explicitly white supremacist organization, as well as an entity that echoes other groups of women in the 1950s that were explicitly segregationist."The Roots of Moms for Liberty Run Deeper Than They Think" by Rebecca Klein, Ed Post
==Astroturf origins==
The group was initially founded by Florida school board members Tiffany Justice, Tina Descovich and Bridget Ziegler in 2021. Originally, under the guise of "parental rights", the group was focused on being against school mandates concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, such as face mask mandates. However, as the pandemic faded, the focus shifted to right-wing cancel culture, targeting school library books and curriculum that included LGBTQ rights and topics addressing race and discrimination."Moms for Liberty has turned ‘parental rights’ into a rallying cry for conservative parents" by Tim Craig, Washington Post, 2021 October 15 Favorite topics of Moms for Liberty tend to parallel the favored topics and memes seen on right-wing populist outlets such as Fox News, such as denouncing critical race theory and promoting LGBTQ conspiracy theories."Conservative PACs inject millions into local school races" by Collin Binkley and Julie Carr Smyth, AP News, 2022 October 11
Though Moms for Liberty touts themselves as a nonpartisan grassroots effort of "passionate parents" who call themselves "joyful warriors", in reality they are heavily tied to long-running reactionary Republican political wings that have a long history of being critical of both public education and diversity, and can be seen as an astroturf organization of such."Just who is behind Moms for Liberty?" by Maurice T. Cunningham, Tampa Bay Times, 2022 July 9 To underscore this point, their first national conference included Donald Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, who during the conference flat out stated that she personally thought that the should not exist. Such has been a decades-long goal for Republican politicians."Back to the Future: GOP Pledge to Abolish Education Department Returns" by Kevin Mahnken, 74 Million, 2022 September 26 Moms for Liberty joyfully endorsed this quote on their website,"'Parents' rights' groups labeled extremist: SPLC lists a key Florida group as anti-government" by Will Carless, USA Today, 2023 June 6 and DeVos's exclamation elicited one of the loudest and longest ovations of the whole conference."The Most Powerful Moms in America Are the New Face of the Republican Party" by Kiera Butler, Mother Jones, 2022 August 22
Moms for Liberty is, in particular, strongly linked with Ron DeSantis, who notably involved the group in his feud with "woke" Disney."Who are Moms for Liberty and why is the group so controversial?" by Marquise Francis, Yahoo News, 2023 May 10 Moms for Liberty summits are hot-spots for Republican politicians — guests at their 2023 summit included 2024 Republican primary contestants Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Nikki Haley. (One Democrat reactionary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was also scheduled to speak, but later backed out)."Far-right 'Moms for Liberty' promotes RFK Jr. as guest speaker at national event" by Gideon Rubin, RawStory, 2023 June 20 Other attendees at the 2023 conference included the Dominionist Tim Barton (son of David Barton) and conservative talk show host and human/slug hybrid Dennis Prager. One founding member (Ziegler), not coincidentally, happened to be married to the then-chairman of the Florida Republican party."Moms for Liberty: What it is and who’s behind the group" by Maddie Hanna, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2023 June 2 Summit sponsors include long-running conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation and the two organizations tied to the Council for National Policy. From 2022 until her involvement in a sex scandal in late 2023, Ziegler was also involved in leadership roles with the Leadership Institute.Staff Directory, Bridget Ziegler, Leadership Institute, archived August 15 2022"Bridget Ziegler resigns from conservative nonprofit amid husband’s rape allegation" by Rachel Tucker, News Channel 8 WFLA, 2023 December 7 In September 2023, DeSantis laughably appointed Descovich to the "Florida Commission on Ethics"."Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Moms for Liberty co-founder to state Commission on Ethics", AP News, 2023 September 6
While Moms for Liberty is the most notable extremist Republican astroturf organization attempting to whitewash and censor educational curriculum, there are multiple other groups, with names like "Parents Defending Education" and "Education First Alliance", that share similar goals, paradigms, and funding sources.
Contrary to their grassroots facade, in many cases when Moms for Liberty members show up at school board meetings, they aren't even parents of students in the district in question.
File:Kevin Roberts.jpg|Mom #1, Kevin Roberts
File:Morton Blackwell (9911478716).jpg|Mom #2, Morton Blackwell, "Any other Moms out there?"
File:Tina Descovich on Reason Magazine.jpg|Oh, there's one… Tina Descovich
==Book banning==
The primary activity of Moms for Liberty is, with the help of friendly Republican politicians such as DeSantis,"Florida Puts Raging MAGA Moms on Book-Banning Council" by Brooke Leigh Howard and Jose Pagliery, Daily Beast, 2022 October 24 challenging books in libraries (particularly libraries in public school) that they consider "inappropriate" and "pornographic". Although Moms for Liberty insists that they are not banning books and are merely "curating" age-inappropriate material from libraries,"Moms for Liberty founders: ‘No one is looking to ban books’" by Tyler Wornell, NewsNation, 2023 April 25 according to the most of the book bans target material that merely is inclusive, especially if the books contain LGBTQ and/or Black themes."States fight to save books from growing number of bans across U.S." by Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 2023 June 21"Book ban controversy comes to Santa Rosa as Moms for Liberty seeks removal of 65 books" by Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal, 2023 May 24"Book Banning Efforts Surged in 2021. These Titles Were the Most Targeted." by Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter, New York Times, 2022 April 4
The Washington Post analyzed book challenges from 2021 to 2022. While "sexual" content was the purported reason for the vast majority of the challenges, 43 percent of the challenges targeted titles with LGBTQ themes, while 36 percent targeted titles featuring characters of color or characters dealing with issues of race and racism. In 37 percent of objections against LGBTQ titles, challengers simply objected to the fact that the book contained LGBTQ characters or stories. Most challenges resulted from "serial filers" who filed 10 or more complaints, and were linked to Moms for Liberty or similar astroturf groups. Challenges were, naturally, more frequent in states like Florida and Texas which had created laws to make it easier to "prevent the presence of pornography and other obscene content" (which of course is a dogwhistle; in practice, these laws have been about challenging books about the minority experience)."Objection to sexual, LGBTQ content propels spike in book challenges" by Hannah Natanson, Washington Post, 2023 June 9
In addition to its censorship activities, Moms for Liberty has partnered with right-wing entities (such as a foundation called the American Cornerstone Institute, run by Ben Carson) to introduce conservative, Fox News-promoted propaganda into public libraries across the country."Moms for Liberty is placing right-wing propaganda in public school libraries while continuing its censorship crusade" by Olivia Little, Media Matters, 2022 April 22
An example of the kind of book that really irks Moms for Liberty is the gender dysphoria-exploring book It was the most frequently challenged book in 2021; of the top 10 challenged books that year, 5 dealt with LGBTQ themes (with most of the remainder having themes exploring racism and/or race). Books aside, Moms for Liberty also targets other media with LGBTQ themes as well. In May 2023, a Florida teacher was placed under investigation for showing a Disney movie, at the request of some school board members associated with Moms for Liberty, simply because the movie had a homosexual character in it."Florida teacher investigated by state agency for showing Disney movie in class" by Ana Goni-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat, 2023 May 14
Books dealing with racial issues fare no better. In Tennessee, two books that were simply about civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and were challenged for supposedly falling afoul of laws restricting the teaching of critical race theory."Right-wing moms group wants to use Tennessee’s “critical race theory” law to ban MLK Jr. book" by Igor Derysh, Salon, 2021 November 30 In another example, the spoken word poem by which was famously read at Joe Biden's inauguration, was targeted by a Florida resident named Daily Salinas in March 2023 for purported critical race theory and "indirect hate messages"."Miami-Dade K-8 bars elementary students from 4 library titles following parent complaint" by Sommer Brugal, Miami Herald, 2023 May 24 Salinas has ties not only to Moms for Liberty but also had attended Proud Boys events."Florida Mom Behind Amanda Gorman Book Ban Has Proud Boy Links" by Decca Muldowney and Kelly Weill, Daily Beast, 2023 May 24 Salinas, who had not fully read any of the material she was attempting to ban, also posted the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to her Facebook page, leading to accusations of antisemitism."Mom Who Challenged Amanda Gorman Accused of Posting Antisemitic Memes" by Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 2023 May 25
Several top-tier American authors that contain mature material in their work, such as and "Kurt Vonnegut Museum slams Moms for Liberty's move to ban books from Brevard school libraries" by Bailey Gallion, Florida Today, 2022 June 7 were also freshly challenged by Moms for Liberty members. Due to the mature themes, these novelists have been longtime targets of censorship."The Neverending Campaign to Ban 'Slaughterhouse Five'" by Betsy Morais, Atlantic, 2021 August 12 Morrison has also long irked the censors for her unflinching looks at some of the dark corners of American history, such as slavery and racism."Why Toni Morrison's Books Are So Often the Target of Book Bans" by Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 2022 January 31 
Similarly, some newer novels that explore darker subject matters with similar frankness, such as the part-graphic novel were also targeted for censorship by Moms for Liberty."Moms for Liberty ramps up fight to ban more books in Johnson County school district" by Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 2023 April 12 Not coincidentally, very similarly to Morrison, this novel dealt with racial issues, but from a Native American perspective.
Occasionally, the book ban targets ventured into the realm of silliness. Romance novels from were targeted by Moms for Liberty for having mild and vague (but icky to fundies) sex scenes."Florida’s book-ban frenzy targets Nora Roberts, and she’s not happy" by Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman, Washington Post, 2023 April 28 Similarly, a graphic novel adaption of was targeted for a ban due to a parent complaining about one illustration with nude statues."Florida school removes graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary" by Associated Press, 2023 April 10 The same group in Tennessee that objected to books on Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges also objected to a long, bizarre laundry list of other material that offended them. This list included teaching about Galileo Galilei (due to not having enough charitable descriptions of the Catholic Church), teaching about the Johnny Appleseed tall tale (for being too "sad and dark"), using books with Spanish language or words (for being potentially "confusing"), and showing articles concerning past crackdowns on civil rights demonstrators (for having a "negative view of firemen and police"). Most bizarrely, the Tennessee group objected to a book with a watercolor illustration of two seahorses holding tails, nonsensically claiming that this depicted "mating seahorses with pictures of (sexual) postions and discussion of the male carrying the eggs.""Far-Right Group Wants to Ban Kids From Reading Books on Male Seahorses, Galileo, and MLK" by Kelly Weill, Daily Beast, 2021 September 24
In one instance of extreme hyperbole, two Moms for Liberty members in Florida called the police on librarians for purportedly making "child pornography" available to a 17-year-old student. This "child pornography" in reality was the young adult fantasy novel Storm and Fury from writer "Members of right-wing group ‘Moms for Liberty’ call police on Florida librarians over young adult novel" by Chris Young, WMNF, 2023 November 7"Moms for Liberty members call the cops on Florida librarians" by Judd Legum, Popular Information Substack, 2023 November 6 Likewise, in October 2023, the Tulsa Oklahoma chapter of Moms for Liberty called for an end to the popular book fairs (a staple in US schools for decades), claiming that the entire company, without specifics, was "largely focused on indoctrinating youth with radical viewpoints and sexual ideologies from a very young age at an increasingly rapid rate.""OKLAHOMA GROUP CLAIMS 'SCHOLASTIC' BOOK FAIRS ARE INDOCTRINATING KIDS WITH 'RADICAL VIEWPOINTS,' 'SEXUAL IDEOLOGIES'" by David Prock, News on 6, 2023 November 15th"Moms for Liberty criticized Scholastic book fairs on social media, but OKC schools have no complaints" by Murray Evans, Oklahoman, 2023 November 15
Ironically, by the standards of Moms for Liberty founder Tiffany Justice ("no pornographic material, no rape, no incest, no pornography"), one book adored by Christian nationalists has such "age inappropriate" content in spades: the Bible. Opponents of Moms for Liberty and Republican book-banning laws have therefore often trolled school officials with challenges to the Bible and Bible related books in order to expose the hypocrisy."2 Pinellas men challenged 7 books, but don’t want them banned. Here’s why." by Jeffrey S. Solochek, Tampa Bay Times, 2023 April 11 In one case in Utah, one of these troll challenges actually succeeded in temporarily removing the Bible from elementary and middle school shelves."Utah district bans Bible in elementary and middle schools after complaint calls it "sex-ridden"", CBS News / Associated Press, 2023 June 5"Utah school board unanimously reversed its decision to remove the Bible off school shelves after appeals" by Kevin Flower and Cheri Mossburg, CNN, 2023 June 21
===Book ban backlash===
Unsurprisingly, there has been a backlash to the censorship attempts of Moms for Liberty. Many people opposed to bans, for instance, have reacted to them by trying to invoke the Streisand effect: placing pop-up banned book libraries outside of schools, giving away banned books, stuffing with banned books, and even driving around a bookmobile dedicated to books that have been targeted by Moms for Liberty and others."Plot twist: Activists skirt book bans with guerrilla giveaways and pop-up libraries" by Tovia Smith, NPR, 2023 March 23 Even commercial book sellers, in response to the censorship threats, have given banned books away. Many public libraries also created specific collections devoted to books that have been challenged; some even put these collections online. In addition, several counter-organizations were formed to resist both the censorship efforts of Moms for Liberty and their takeover of school boards."Two moms are at the center of the fight against book banning in America: ‘It’s exhausting’" by Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 2023 May 15
As Moms for Liberty is strongly linked to Republican politics, some publishers are fighting back by suing governors and other politicians and administrators friendly to censors. In May 2023, the publisher (along with the freedom of speech advocacy group and many others) filed a lawsuit against a Florida school board () arguing that the school district violated the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause for restricting books seemingly due to their "woke" minority content. The lawsuit singled out Moms for Liberty, along with the individual that led the charge on removing titles in this district, Vicki Baggett."PEN America And Penguin Sue Over Florida’s Book Bans" by Kate Briquelet, Daily Beast, 2023 May 17 Not coincidentally, Baggett is a member of the neo-Confederate group "PTA mom takes on Florida book bans and the mainstreaming of hatred" by Michelle Goldberg, Seattle Times, 2023 May 19 Baggett was also behind the extremely hyperbolic attempt to attempt to label a young adult fantasy novel as child pornography."Moms for Liberty and Florida Teacher Schemed to Manipulate Student Book Controversy" by Christopher Wiggins, 2023 November 15
Moms for Liberty conferences have been protested by several groups, especially LGBTQ advocacy groups. Their 2023 conference in Philadelphia, for instance, was protested by the Philadelphia chapter of ACT UP among others."Moms for Liberty: What it is and who’s behind the group" by Maddie Hanna, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2023 June 2"Pa. LGBTQ groups mobilize against Moms For Liberty gathering in Philly" by Danirae Renno, Pennsylvania Capital-STar, 2023 June 2 Star Trek actor (who also hosted a pro-reading educational show on PBS called was outspoken in his disgust at Moms for Liberty."LeVar Burton Is Still Fighting For Your Right to Read" by Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire, 2023 November 15 He became the first actor to host in October 2023,"LeVar Burton to Lead 2023 Banned Books Week as Honorary Chair", Banned Books Week announcement, 2023 September 20 and took a public jab at Moms for Liberty when hosting the ceremony in November 2023."LeVar Burton Opens National Book Awards By Shading Extremist Group Moms For Liberty" by Paige Skinner, Huffington Post, 2023 November 16
In May 2023, Illinois became the first state to ban book banning. HB 2789, passed on party lines, required libraries to adopt the American Library Association's "Bill of Rights" (or a similar alternative), which states that libraries should not exclude books "because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation" and should not remove books "because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval." Non-compliant libraries in the state could risk the loss of significant funding. The bill was inspired by a failed attempt to ban Gender Queer in an Illinois school district, where it was observed that bigoted, designated-terrorist groups like the Proud Boys were among those that attended the school board meetings where the ban was discussed."Illinois libraries that ban books may soon be ineligible for state grants" by Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 2023 May 5 Similar state legislation was also proposed in New Jersey in May 2023."NJ ban on banning books? New bill would cut aid to libraries, schools that block access" by Mary Ann Koruth, NorthJersey.com, 2023 May 24 In California, governor warned school superintendents and administrators that any book ban may be unconstitutional, and thus subject to review by the California Attorney General's Office."Illegal Book Bans: Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, and State Superintendent Thurmond Warn Against Book Bans Statewide", Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, 2023 June 1
By the election season of November 2023, a significant portion of the American public was also fed up with Moms for Liberty's shit. While Moms for Liberty's message still had some currency in smaller and more rural districts, Moms for Liberty endorsed candidates lost the vast majority of school board elections in the suburbs, significantly weakening their political clout."Moms For Liberty's School Board Takeover Attempts Fizzled Out On Election Day" by Nathalie Baptiste, Huffington Post, 2023 November 8"Moms for Liberty Annihilated in School Board Elections" by Khaleda Rahman, Newsweek, 2023 November 9"‘Moms for Liberty’ Fanatics Lose Out Big-Time" by Ryan Cooper, American Prospect, 2023 November 13
==School board activities==
One big focus for Moms for Liberty activists is running candidates that are aligned with their vision for school boards. If Moms for Liberty determines that a particular school board is not responsive to their demands, Moms for Liberty mobilizes its membership to put forth a slate of far-right activists in the next election, in the hopes of taking the board over."Meet Moms for Liberty, the group leading LGBTQ book bans in Pa. schools", Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2023 February 18 Once installed on a board, the activists are then in a strong position to do things like ban any book with LGBT themes and racial inclusiveness. In addition to getting candidates elected to school boards, Moms for Liberty also seeks to enact their goals in legislation and diminish the influence of teacher unions. 
Far from being a grassroots operation, this effort is tightly coordinated. At the 2022 Moms for Liberty national conference in Tampa, Florida, for instance, members were trained in strategy sessions on how to get media attention, vet candidates, dissect school policies, and run for office."Moms for Liberty’s conservative activists are planning their next move: Taking over school boards" by Tyler Kingkade, NBC News, 2022 July 17 The 2023 conference included presentations with detailed instructions on destabilizing and bombarding school districts once in power, presented by businessmen who not coincidentally happened to run consulting firms that could implement these actions for you.
Contrary to their purported "joyful warriors" stance, Moms for Liberty is known for turning school board meetings into angry shouting matches and for harassing and stalking school board members, teachers, students, and parents… to the point where some fear for their safety, or their lives."Florida teachers say they're being silenced amid the rise of Moms for Liberty" by Sarah Mueller, WFSU, 2022 July 19"A Far-Right Moms Group Is Terrorizing Schools in the Name of Protecting Kids" by David Gilbert, Vice, 2023 April 26 Moms for Liberty members have been arrested and convicted of harassment (to the point where restraining orders were needed in one case), and have acted so disorderly in some school board meetings, police presence was required."Moms for Liberty members have been linked to incidents of harassment and threats around the country" by Olivia Little, Media Matters, 2023 April 11"Monroe County Moms for Liberty chairperson convicted in harassment case" by Peter Becker, Pocono Record, 2023 May 31 Moms for Liberty members have been known to engage in online harassment campaigns against those who oppose their agenda."A Far Right Moms Group Is Targeting Students. These Women Are Fighting Back." by David Gilbert, Vice News, 2023 May 22 
Occasionally, the harassment led to violent threats. In June 2022, a Moms for Liberty member in Lonoke County, Arkansas named Melissa Bosch was caught on tape musing about gunning down a librarian, resulting in a ban from all public schools in the school district."Moms for Liberty member avoids criminal charges over comment about gunning down a school librarian" by Debra Hale-Shelton, Arkansas Times, 2022 June 22 A school board member in Charleston County named Ed Kelley was censured and removed from leadership roles after a parent alleged that Kelly talked about a transgender teacher at a Moms for Liberty meeting who had discussed her identity in the classroom. During this meeting, Kelley allegedly claimed that he would have shown up to the teacher's house with a gun if the teacher "talked in front of his kid like that"."CCSD board votes to censure Ed Kelley, remove him from leadership positions over comments seen as threatening, transphobic" by Tim Renaud and Jordan Cioppa, Count on News 2, 2023 April 4"CCSD board member asked to resign after allegedly threatening transgender teacher" by Tessa Spencer, ABC 4 News, 2023 March 28 
In New Hampshire, Moms for Liberty offered a $500 bounty to anyone who "catches" a public school teacher violating a recently created New Hampshire law that limited certain kinds of teachings about racism and sexism."Offer of cash prize for allegations against N.H. teachers draws rebuke" by Sarah Gibson, New Hampshire Public Radio, 2021 November 18
==General bigotry==
Moms for Liberty's bigoted activities go beyond merely banning books. For instance, unsurprisingly, they are fervently against schools promoting ["Moms for Liberty to rally against Pride Month at tonight’s school board meeting"] by Stephanie Smittle, Arkansas Times, 2023 June 13 In September 2021, a Nashville chapter of Moms for Liberty hysterically criticized a LGBTQ float at the school's homecoming parade, transforming a small kiss between two women on the float into hyperbole where schools were now "on a slippery slope in the sexualization of children"."LGBTQ+ groups defend Williamson County teens slammed by conservative group over Pride float" by Anika Exum, Nashville Tennesesean, 2021 September 20 In June 2023, an Orlando, Florida Moms for Liberty member got upset that a mere two pages in a school yearbook were devoted to a spread featuring the LGTBQ+ community, a feature that had been running in that yearbook for quite some time, in a similar manner to how the high school covered other student interests like Dungeons and Dragons and "Moms for Liberty Loses Its Shit Over School Yearbook’s LGBTQ Page" by Brooke Leigh Howard, Daily Beast, 2023 June 5"Seminole schools offer to remove LGBTQ+ pages from high school yearbook" by Skyler Swisher, Orlando Sentinel, 2023 June 1 At the 2023 Moms for Liberty conference, one workshop featured an anti-transgender activist who showed conspiracy videos that had circulated on Libs of TikTok on the that falsely claimed that the hospital was performing gender surgery on children.
Moms for Liberty is against school frameworks like (SEL) and In the later case, a speaker at the 2022 Moms for Liberty national conference in Tampa bizarrely blamed a mass shooting at Parkland, Florida on restorative justice practices in the school district."How Moms for Liberty wants to reshape education this school year and beyond" by Ariel Gilreath, Hechinger Report, 2022 September 29
For the former, founder Tiffany Justice believes that social-emotional learning promotes New Age thinking and replaces "the child's values and morals in the home with an idea of spirituality"."Educational model wanted students 'to be nice.' That's controversial in Florida now under DeSantis" by Alia Wong, USA Today, 2023 March 27 At the same Tampa conference in 2022, James Lindsay, best known for being a key disinformation promoter in the grievance studies hoax, accused SEL of being a "thought reform program" akin to those in Mao Zedong's China during the Cultural Revolution, and linked teaching children about gender fluidity to World Economic Forum conspiracy theories. Some Moms for Liberty chapters have subsequently sued school districts that have implemented this framework, as the values of "empathy, service and connection" these programs emphasize did not, according to one parent, "reflect our values, morals and beliefs" in their religion."Parents file lawsuit against school district's empathy-based curriculum" by Meredith Willse, York Dispatch, 2023 February 14
Unsurprisingly, Moms for Liberty members have been known to promote outlandish conspiracy theories in a manner not unlike prior prominent umbrella conspiracy theories attractive to the reactionary right, such as QAnon and Pizzagate. One member, for instance, told CNN that she believed that teacher unions and Joe Biden were conspiring on a high-level coordinated effort to make more children trans and gay, in order to break down the family union, conservative values, and constitutional rights."Activist moms spy on each other in culture wars over schooling" by Elle Reeve and Samantha Guff, CNN, 2023 May 20 At the 2023 Moms for Liberty conference in Philadelphia, one presenter of a breakout session believed that social-emotional learning was exploiting children for the benefit of "Marxists or globalists" who were out to "replace parents"; conspiracy theories about microchips and Bill Gates were also sprinkled within her presentation."Inside Moms for Liberty’s summit: Big money and even bigger conspiracy theories" by Olivia Little, Media Matters, 2023 July 7 An attendee at this same conference repeated a widely circulated conspiracy theory about furries and "litter boxes" at school to a Daily Beast reporter."DeSantis, Furries, and Trump Merch: I Went to the Moms for Liberty Summit" by Kate Briquelet, Daily Beast, 2023 July 5
==Scandalous behavior==
In 2023, it was reported that 'mom' "Phillip Fisher Jr., a pastor and Republican ward leader who coordinated faith-based outreach for a local Moms for Liberty chapter, is a registered sex offender in Illinois". He had committed a felony of "aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy" in 2012.Moms for Liberty Chapter Worked With Sex Offender for Christian Outreach by Katherine Fung (Nov 20, 2023 at 11:06 AM EST) Newsweek.
In late 2023, Christian Ziegler, the Florida GOP chair and husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, was reported to be under investigation by City of Sarasota police for rape and sexual assault. According to sources, a woman alleged that she and both Zieglers had been involved in a three year consensual, often secretly videotaped, sexual relationship. The rape incident allegedly occurred when the woman cancelled a planned threesome with the Zieglers when Bridget Ziegler could not attend (according to one report, the woman messaged Christian Ziegler that "I was mostly in it for her".)"Florida GOP chairman under fire as more details emerge in rape inquiry" by Lori Rozsa and Will Oremus, archived from The Washington Post, 2 December 2023. Mr. Ziegler came to her apartment uninvited anyways and allegedly sexually assaulted her. 
As Bridget Ziegler reportedly confirmed to investigators that a threesome had indeed previously occurred once, and later, Sarasota Police reportedly obtained video footage of Bridget engaging in sexual relations with an unidentified woman,"Police have recovered second Ziegler sex video, sources say" by Michael Barfield, Florida Center for Government Accountability, 2023 December 22 there was much commentary about the hypocrisy of how such a prominent anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender activist was secretly involved in a sexual relationship with bisexual elements. Even Ron DeSantis called on Christian Ziegler to resign after the news broke."'The hypocrisy is just off the charts': Zieglers face reckoning after moral crusading" by Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2023 December 4
In a statement, Christian Ziegler denied all allegations of rape, and insisted that this encounter was consensual in an affidavit."Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, husband of Moms For Liberty cofounder, accused of sexual assault by alleged menage a trois lover" by Bob Norman, Florida Center for Government Accountability, 2023 November 30"Details of Sexual Assault Allegation Against Florida G.O.P. Chair Add to Party Turmoil" by Colbi Edmonds, archived from The New York Times, 3 December 2023. Nonetheless, on December 17 2023, Christian Ziegler was censured by Florida's Republican party and stripped of all of his authority."Florida GOP censures Chair Christian Ziegler and strips him of authority amid sexual assault investigation" by Denise Royal and Carlos Suarez, CNN, 2023 December 17 On January 8 2024, the Republican Party of Florida voted overwhelmingly to remove Christian Ziegler as chair."Florida GOP removes Christian Ziegler as party chair after rape allegation" by Zac Anderson and James Call, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2024 January 8
On January 19 2024, Sarasota Police recommended that Christian Ziegler not be charged with rape, stating that the encounter was likely consensual. However, the police recommended that Christian Ziegler should be charged with video voyeurism (a third degree felony) due to Christian filming the sexual encounter without consent."Ousted Florida Republican chair cleared of rape allegation, but police seek video voyeurism charge" by Terry Spencer, AP News, 2024 January 19 In March 2024, police determined that there was insufficient evidence to charge Christian with video voyeurism."Ex-Florida GOP Chair Ziegler won’t face criminal charges" by Kimberly Leonard, Politico, 2024 March 6 Although Christian had been cleared of any wrongdoing, Bridget Ziegler continued to attract bipartisan protests demanding that she resign from her Sarasota school board position, due to the blatant hypocrisy of her being a confirmed bisexual while simultaneously advocating homophobic and transphobic positions."Calls for Bridget Ziegler to resign continue after audio interviews released" by Alessandra Young, News Channel 8, 2024 March 5"Sarasota Moms Bring in the Big Guns to Oust Bridget Ziegler" by Kate Briquelet, Daily Beast, 2024 March 7 Such past behavior included Bridget Ziegler allowing a few extremist members of the public (one a known Republican activist who was affiliated with the Proud Boys) to attack the one lone gay member of the Sarasota school board (Tom Edwards) with homophobic slander (such as baseless charges of ) at school board meetings in 2023."Gay Sarasota school board member walks out of meeting after homophobic remarks" by Sam Sachs, WFLA, 2023 March 22
The hypocrisy of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, which Bridget Ziegler says she helped craft, means that when students in the state ask their teachers "what's a three-way?", they can't legally answer the question or discuss it in any way.Kiera Butler, Florida Students Have Questions About the Ziegler Scandal. The Law Bridget Pushed Means Teachers Can’t Answer Them. Mother Jones, 11 December 2023.
==Notes==
==External links==
*Trans Data Library on Moms For Liberty
==References==
Category:Authoritarianism
Category:Censorship
Category:Completely heterosexual
Category:Conservative deceit
Category:Conspiracy theorists
Category:Hate groups
Category:Homophobes
Category:Misnomers
Category:Purity culture
Category:Racists
Category:Right-wing activists
Category:Transphobia
Category:War on science
Category:White supremacy