Lisa Rung's Legal Defense Fund
Donation protected
As the mother of three public school children here in Franklin County Tennessee, I was very alarmed to learn that hate groups like the League of the South and Mass Resistance were coming in to our county to fight the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance at our local high school early last Spring.
I went to the Board Meeting in February to show support for the brave young people who had started the GSA, and there I first saw the gentleman depicted in the attached video, using graphic language in front of a mixed crowd (including my 13 year old daughter and her friend) and making false and defamatory accusations against my friends in the lgbtq community.
Needless to say I became even more alarmed.
Following the story closely on social and local media, I saw that, according to a Mass Resistance press release, they were actively recruiting candidates for the School Board. I called the Board of Elections to get the names of all the people who had taken out papers to run for the School Board, and learned that, lo and behold, this gentleman's wife was one of them.
At the next School Board Meeting, a month later, I saw a car in the parking lot with their name on it. Literally, their name. Also a decal for the League of the South, an officially designated hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. I snapped a photo and shared it to a local facebook page that had been created in support of the GSA and described this person as a "white supremacist."
Not long after, I was served with papers notifying me I was being sued for defamation and libel. Mr. Weidlich wanted $15,000 to restore his good name.
I made a beeline for the best lawyer in the County, Bob Peters, who, after he got done laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, told me the suit was a no-brainer and there would be no charge.
And we won, of course.
But Mr. Weidlich couldn't leave well enough alone, and decided to appeal. This time he is asking for $25,000!
My lawyer apologized and said this craziness was taking more of his time than he'd originally anticipated, and that he would have to charge me for time spent from here on out.
So here we are.
If you are in a position to help out, I would gratefully appreciate it!
I went to the Board Meeting in February to show support for the brave young people who had started the GSA, and there I first saw the gentleman depicted in the attached video, using graphic language in front of a mixed crowd (including my 13 year old daughter and her friend) and making false and defamatory accusations against my friends in the lgbtq community.
Needless to say I became even more alarmed.
Following the story closely on social and local media, I saw that, according to a Mass Resistance press release, they were actively recruiting candidates for the School Board. I called the Board of Elections to get the names of all the people who had taken out papers to run for the School Board, and learned that, lo and behold, this gentleman's wife was one of them.
At the next School Board Meeting, a month later, I saw a car in the parking lot with their name on it. Literally, their name. Also a decal for the League of the South, an officially designated hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. I snapped a photo and shared it to a local facebook page that had been created in support of the GSA and described this person as a "white supremacist."
Not long after, I was served with papers notifying me I was being sued for defamation and libel. Mr. Weidlich wanted $15,000 to restore his good name.
I made a beeline for the best lawyer in the County, Bob Peters, who, after he got done laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, told me the suit was a no-brainer and there would be no charge.
And we won, of course.
But Mr. Weidlich couldn't leave well enough alone, and decided to appeal. This time he is asking for $25,000!
My lawyer apologized and said this craziness was taking more of his time than he'd originally anticipated, and that he would have to charge me for time spent from here on out.
So here we are.
If you are in a position to help out, I would gratefully appreciate it!
Organizer
Lisa Rung
Organizer
Sewanee, TN