LIVE: Oral Arguments in Federal Appeal On Behalf Mother Who Faced Retaliation for Criticizing "Polysexual" Posters at Daughter's Elementary School
Thomas More Society Argues Federal Appeal on Behalf of Angela Reading, Mother Who Was Treated Like a Terrorist
On September 4, Thomas More Society attorneys argue a federal appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, on behalf of New Jersey mom, Angela Reading. The oral argument is available to livestream below on September 4, 2024 at 9:30 AM (Eastern).
Angela was visiting her seven-year-old daughter's school for 'math night,' when walking down the hall with her daughter, her child read posters promoting different sexualities at the school's entry and asked her mother what 'polysexual' meant. To Angela, this was deeply inappropriate for an elementary school environment. After Angela's concerns were dismissed by the school, Reading—herself a member of the school board—posted in a Facebook group dedicated to discussion about local schools.
However, when military officials at the neighboring Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst saw this post on the local Facebook group, they conspired with the local police chief for North Hanover Township, to take down and censor her post from the Facebook group. Military officials at the base even worked to portray her as a “security threat” and reported her to various law enforcement and security agencies in an effort retaliate against her and make her afraid to speak in the future—including to Homeland Security.
In March 2023, Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit to vindicate and protect Angela's civil rights. A U.S. District Court denied an injunctive order to protect Angela and her family, and in February 2024 filed a federal appeal. On September 4, Senior Counsel Christopher Ferrara presents oral argument in the appeal before Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Kent Jordan, Thomas Hardiman, and David Porter.