The jury is out on the teacher’s suit against the district over the Jan. 6 rally

A Pennsylvania school district violated a teacher’s constitutional rights by falsely suggesting he took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a federal jury has found.

After an 11-day trial, jurors found that the Allentown school district retaliated against Jason Moorehead when it suspended him after the deadly uprising in the nation’s capital and said he “was involved in the Electoral College protest that took place at the State Capitol building United. “

Although Moorehead was in Washington, DC, to attend Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, he said he never went near the Capitol and was not among those who stormed the building. He was never charged with a crime.

Moorehead, who taught middle school social studies, said individual school board members later orchestrated a public smear campaign against him despite his unblemished teaching record, claiming they acted out of “ideological hatred.” He said the ordeal destroyed his reputation and ended his teaching career.

Jurors decided Friday that the district — one of the largest in the state, with more than 16,000 students — must pay Moorehead $125,000 in economic damages. The jury also found that school board member Lisa Conover and former board president Nancy Wilt acted “maliciously or wantonly,” ordering Conover to pay $6,000 in punitive damages , and to pay Wilt $500.

One of the school district’s attorneys, Shorav Kaushik, said in a brief statement Thursday that “the district respects the jury’s verdict and is considering legal options. He looks forward to continuing his mission of serving the Allentown community and the needs of its students and families.”

He said the district’s share of the damages will be covered by its insurance company, while Conover and Wilt will be responsible for paying punitive damages. Conover and Wilt did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday and Thursday.

Moorehead, a Seattle native with 17 years of experience in the Allentown district, calls himself a conservative Republican and Trump supporter, but said he kept his politics to himself as a teacher in a predominantly Democratic city. Allentown, a diverse urban neighborhood about an hour north of Philadelphia, is the only place he has ever taught.

He did not return to the Allentown classroom or anywhere else, saying it would be very difficult if the district did not apologize.

The jury’s verdict “is a good start,” Moorehead said in a phone interview. “But it still leaves me wanting more accountability from the school district to clear my name in the community. … The community needs to hear from the district that I did nothing wrong and that I can safely return to a teaching environment.”

Francis Malofiy, one of Moorehead’s attorneys, vowed to “really screw the district, screw those board members and demand that they issue a formal apology and correct this record.”

He hasn’t appeared since Thursday. Asked about the apology and retraction, Kaushik, the district’s attorney, said, “The district does not intend to make any further statements regarding this matter at this time.”

During the trial, evidence showed that the district’s attorney and PR firm advised district officials to issue a brief statement about a teacher who was in Washington. Instead, top district officials signed a “longer and more detailed false statement without even talking to Jason,” said AJ Fluehr, another attorney for Moorehead.

The district also found fault with some of Moorehead’s social media posts about the events of Jan. 6. At one point, Moorehead posted a selfie on Facebook of himself wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and carrying a Revolutionary War-era flag. , captioned: “I’m doing my civic duty!” Moorehead also shared a post that said: “Don’t worry everyone in the capital is covered,” adding his own one-word comment: “This.”

The district told Moorehead that his posts were “nasty, insensitive, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring.”

Moorehead’s lawsuit said the school district and high-ranking officials retaliated against him based on his protected speech, and the judge instructed jurors that his attendance at the rally, Facebook posts and political leanings were protected by the First Amendment.

“You still have the right to assembly and you still have the right to free speech and you can’t take that away,” Malofiy said. “School board members tried to silence and overrule Jason Moorehead. It came back to haunt them.”

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