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

After an 11-day trial, jurors found the Allentown School District retaliated against Jason Moorehead when it suspended him after the deadly insurrection in the nation's capital and asserted he “was involved in the electoral college protest that took place at the United States Capitol Building.”

Although Moorehead was in Washington, D.C., to attend Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, he said he never got closer than a mile to the Capitol and was not among the rioters who stormed the building. He has never been charged with a crime.

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

Jurors decided on Friday that the district — one of the largest in the state with more than 16,000 students — should pay Moorehead $125,000 for 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 Wilt to pay $500.

One of the school district's lawyers, Shorav Kaushik, said in a brief statement Thursday that “the district respects the jury’s verdict and is considering its legal options. It is looking forward to continuing its mission to serve the Allentown community and the needs of its students and families.”

He said the district's portion 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 city where Democrats predominate. Allentown, a diverse, urban district about an hour north of Philadelphia, is the only place he has ever taught.

He has not returned to the classroom in Allentown or anywhere else, saying that would be very difficult unless the district issues an apology.

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

Francis Malofiy, one of Moorehead's lawyers, vowed to “really put the screws to the district, put the screws to those board members, and demand that they put out a formal apology and correct this record."

It wasn't forthcoming as of Thursday. Asked about an apology and a retraction, Kaushik, the district's lawyer, said: “As of now the district does not intend to make any further statements regarding this matter.”

At trial, evidence showed the district’s lawyer and PR firm advised district officials to issue a brief statement about a teacher having been in Washington. Instead, top district officials signed off on a “longer, detailed false statement without even speaking with Jason,” said AJ Fluehr, another of Moorehead's lawyers.

The district had also found fault with several of Moorehead’s social media posts about the events of Jan. 6. At one point, Moorehead posted a selfie of himself on Facebook in a “Make America Great Again” hat and carrying a Revolutionary War-era flag, captioning it: “Doing my civic duty!” Moorehead also shared a post that said: “Don’t worry everyone the capitol is insured,” appending his own one-word comment: “This.”

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

Moorehead's suit said school district and top officials retaliated against him based on his protected speech, and the judge instructed jurors that his rally attendance, Facebook posts and political leanings were protected by the First Amendment.

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

News from © The Associated Press, 2024