Far proper activist Lynley Kerr Hogan is suing Los Gatos council members Rob Moore and Maria Ristow and Los Gatos Democracy Tent moderator Lee Fagot for defamation.
Hogan alleges within the swimsuit, filed on Nov. 14, that Moore, Ristow and Fagot conspired to defame her and stop her from attending conferences hosted by the Democracy Tent – a gaggle that encourages folks to debate public coverage as soon as every week. Hogan had been a part of a far-right group that had for months disrupted city council conferences in 2021, and has not too long ago attended a number of city council conferences this yr espousing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric throughout the public remark interval.
Hogan is alleging within the lawsuit that Moore and Ristow defamed her to Fagot in saying that she went to a city council assembly and threatened to kill somebody, and that Fagot defamed her by making an identical assertion. She alleges that the three violated her First Modification rights, in deliberately excluding her from Democracy Tent’s weekly public conferences and deliberately inflicting her “emotional distress.”
Hogan started attending the weekly conferences in April 2023, in accordance with the grievance, however was now not ready to take action by November. The grievance states that Fagot informed Hogan that members of the group voted to ban her from the conferences due to the alleged dying menace.
“[Hogan] suffered extreme shame, humiliation, mortification and shock from being excluded from the meetings and learning that the defendants were defaming her to other people,” the grievance reads.
The lawsuit which seeks damages “in excess of $35,000,” additionally takes intention at Moore particularly, alleging that he wrote a “libelous and misleading post” on Nextdoor in response to a put up that includes a flier Hogan made about drag queens. Hogan alleges that Moore added a hyperlink to an article on Patch.com from 2013 a couple of restraining order that the city obtained towards Hogan; the grievance states that Moore ought to have recognized that the case was later dismissed.
The swimsuit alleges that Moore deceived folks and defamed her on Nextdoor together with his put up, depicting her in a false gentle and retaliated towards her for “exercising a constitutional right” in placing up the posters.
The Los Gatos City Council mentioned the lawsuit in a particular closed session assembly on Dec. 3, and city lawyer Gabrielle Whelan reported within the council’s open session assembly hours later that the council approved the protection of Moore and Ristow.
