"Secret Lesbian Sex Threesomes" Libel Lawsuit Against Kentucky 2022 Teacher of the Year

Here's the exchange, from defendant's declaration in Hart v. Carver (D. Md.):

And here's the defendant's account of the facts (which is considerably more detail than the account in the plaintiffs' Complaint):

I was a classroom teacher in Kentucky from 2013 through 2022, and was the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year. I am openly gay and left teaching due to the discrimination that I faced in the school system, including ultimately being publicly accused of "grooming" children simply because I advised a student-run LGBTQ+ group, "Open Light."

I now work at the University of Kentucky, where I am finishing a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky. I am also an author and have published poetry. My recent book, Gay Poems for Red States, a memoir in narrative poetry, was published by the University Press of Kentucky. Among other awards, it has been named Stonewall Award Winner, a 2024 Rainbow Award Book, and a Book Riot Best Book of 2023….

When I saw [a] message from "Kit Hart, American Girl," I looked at her X profile and saw that she was a chapter chair of the Moms for Liberty group. Based on news reports, I am familiar with that group and its recent controversies.

After I was served a copy of the Complaint in this case in Kentucky, I "locked" my Tweet that is the subject of the claims in this case, so that it is no longer visible to the public. As of today, a total of 134 people in the entire world had viewed the Tweet, according to analytics on the X platform. Only 14 of those people "engaged" with it, which means they were interested enough to see the entire chain and replies.

Attached as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of selected Tweets by "Kit Hart, American Girl," that I identified that labeled LGBTQ+ individuals and supporters as "groomers" or similar terms.

The Harts sued for libel and invasion of privacy, and Tuesday's decision by Judge Julie Rubin (D. Md.) in Hart v. Carver … held that the court in Maryland had no jurisdiction over defendant. (Remember, the lawyer's true superpower is the power to make every case a case about procedure.) The case has now been transferred to the Eastern District of Kentucky, where presumably some day it might reach a merits determination.

UPDATE: Commenter JoeFromtheBronx notes that the "lesbian threesome" may be a reference to a real controversy involving a Moms for Liberty cofounder (though not Hart herself). From Newsweek (Thomas Kika) in Dec. 2023:

Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler's admission to having a sexual relationship with the woman accusing her husband of rape has sparked backlash online Saturday, with many labeling the Florida political leader a hypocrite.

Bridget Ziegler's husband, Christian Ziegler, is the head of the Florida Republican Party and is currently embroiled in a sexual assault investigation. On Friday, it was reported that an unnamed woman claiming to be a friend of the Zieglers filed a report with the Sarasota Police in early October claiming that Christian Ziegler had come to her apartment and raped her, after a planned threesome between the victim and the couple fell through after Bridget Ziegler became busy at the last minute….

As revealed in recently released court documents, Bridget Ziegler was interviewed by investigators in early November, confirming that she, her husband, and the victim had been friends and had engaged in a consensual sexual encounter roughly a year prior to the assault that the victim now alleges….