FreeState Justice on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against its former executive director who has accused its board of directors of having a “white supremacist culture.”

The lawsuit, which FreeState Justice filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, notes the board on Sept. 16 informed Jeremy LaMaster that “they were relieved of their duties, and the final two weeks of their employment were to be spent cooperating in the transition of FreeState’s operations.”

“LaMaster abruptly left the meeting early and immediately began a coordinated attack on FreeState’s operations; in particular, its IT assets,” reads the lawsuit. “When FreeState discovered LaMaster’s improper interference, it terminated their employment effective immediately, ordered them to cease and desist and to rectify their actions. LaMaster did not abide and continued to hijack and misappropriate FreeState’s IT infrastructure and documents.” 

The lawsuit alleges that LaMaster “unilaterally and without authorization changed user permissions and shared login information so only they had access to numerous systems and accounts.” 

“They also removed employees’ administrative access to numerous systems and accounts, leaving such access to only themself,” reads the lawsuit. “In doing so, LaMaster has left FreeState’s employees with little to no access to client files, case files, dashboard reports,and case notes. LaMaster also changed the password to FreeState’s WordPress account, leaving LaMaster in sole control of FreeState’s website.” 

LaMaster, who uses nonbinary and binary pronouns, in a message they sent from his FreeState Justice email account on Monday announced their resignation after they said the board declined to step down.

“This morning, I requested the FreeState Justice board of directors to submit their immediate resignations due to persistent violations of our board handbook, consistent failures in their fiduciary responsibilities, and using positions of power to engage in partisan lobbying within FreeState Justice and their repeated refusal to add new members and leadership to the board,” wrote LaMaster.

LaMaster in their email noted they “exhausted every avenue over the past two years to get our board fully staffed and running, and I made good faith efforts to work with the board to ensure that our clients and low-income LGBTQ Marylanders remained at our center.” 

“Instead, the board has refused to accept any new board members since 2021 and refused to staff and run core board activities as per our handbook,” wrote LaMaster. “Instead, they have worked to consolidate power and amend the board handbook in secret to lower the minimum number of board members required and ensure that our policy positions prioritize relationships with legislators, not the best interests of our clients and community. I have provided clear warnings and consistent concerns over these issues that were repeatedly ignored.”

“These are the hallmarks of white supremacist culture: The concentration of power, power hoarding, defensiveness, right to comfort, fear of open conflict, hyper-individualism, and a false sense of urgency,” added LaMaster.

FreeState Justice in response to LaMaster’s allegations said it fired them on Sept. 16 “after prolonged and thoughtful deliberation” and further noted their statement “does not reflect the views or ideals of FreeState Justice’s board and staff.” FreeState Justice has named Phillip Westry as LaMaster’s successor.

The lawsuit alleges LaMaster “has commandeered” Westry’s Google account, “rendering him unable to access his emails, internal work calendars, and collaborative documents shared and worked on via Google Drive.” 

“LaMaster also now has unfettered and improper access to employee lists, donor lists, volunteer lists, mailing lists, client lists, and pro bono attorney lists,” reads the lawsuit. 

“Despite FreeState’s insistence that they cease their unlawful activities and restore operations immediately, LaMaster proceeded to upload a defamatory post to FreeState’s website and disseminated it to approximately 43,000 recipients on FreeState’s mailing list, which they accessed without authorization,” it notes. “The post, titled, ‘Whistleblowing: Public Call for the Resignation of the FreeState Board of Directors’ falsely depicts the circumstances surrounding their departure from FreeState by stating that they resigned, without basis alleged that the Board engaged in ethical violations, and likened FreeState’s Board to White Supremacists, claiming they supported white supremacist culture and practices, and were not ‘anti-racist.’ This is false, defamatory, and denigrating of FreeState and its board members, and extraordinarily damaging for a social justice organization.” 

The lawsuit further notes that because “LaMaster did not comply with FreeState’s cease and desist letter, because LaMaster continues to infiltrate FreeState’s systems and accounts, and because LaMaster, after receiving FreeState’s cease and desist letter published a post defaming FreeState, and without authorization, posted it to FreeState’s website, and disseminated it to its mailing list of approximately 43,000 people with his FreeState email address, FreeState has no choice but to seek judicial intervention to prevent further unlawful conduct, and irreparable harm to FreeState.”

“FreeState requests an immediate hearing on this matter,” reads the lawsuit. “It can be reasonably presumed that LaMaster will continue to use FreeState’s proprietary information to interfere with FreeState’s business relations and continue to interfere with FreeState’s possessory interests in its systems and accounts, depriving FreeState personnel of access to the accounts, documents, and files they need to perform their work.”

The Washington Blade has reached out to LaMaster for comment on the lawsuit. 

FreeState Justice Executive Director Jeremy LaMaster on Monday announced their resignation after they said the organization’s board of directors declined their request to step down.

“This morning, I requested the FreeState Justice board of directors to submit their immediate resignations due to persistent violations of our board handbook, consistent failures in their fiduciary responsibilities, and using positions of power to engage in partisan lobbying within FreeState Justice and their repeated refusal to add new members and leadership to the board,” said LaMaster in an email they sent from his FreeState Justice email account. “They declined, and it is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation as executive director and make a public call for their resignation instead: For the resignation of Lindsey Young, board president; Riley Roshong, board vice president; Brianna January, board secretary; Lee Carpenter, Brenda Dorsch, Andrew Adelman and Jess Landers Hopkins.”

LaMaster in June 2020 succeeded Mark Procopio as executive director.

LaMaster in his email noted they “exhausted every avenue over the past two years to get our board fully staffed and running, and I made good faith efforts to work with the board to ensure that our clients and low-income LGBTQ Marylanders remained at our center.” 

“Instead, the board has refused to accept any new board members since 2021 and refused to staff and run core board activities as per our handbook,” wrote LaMaster. “Instead, they have worked to consolidate power and amend the board handbook in secret to lower the minimum number of board members required and ensure that our policy positions prioritize relationships with legislators, not the best interests of our clients and community. I have provided clear warnings and consistent concerns over these issues that were repeatedly ignored.”

“These are the hallmarks of white supremacist culture: the concentration of power, power hoarding, defensiveness, right to comfort, fear of open conflict, hyper-individualism, and a false sense of urgency,” added LaMaster.

A link to LaMaster’s letter can be found here.

The Washington Blade has reached out to Carpenter for comment on LaMaster’s allegations.

Former FreeState Justice Education and Outreach Director Ezra Halstead in an email they sent to the Blade on Monday sharply rebuked LaMaster.

“The claims that are being made are 100 percent false, and the reality is that Jeremy has single-handedly destroyed the organization on their own,” wrote Halstead.

Halstead attached a letter that former FreeState Justice Legal Director CP Hoffman wrote to the organization’s board on March 31, 2022, the day their resignation took effect. 

Hoffman in their letter noted “historically poor provision of legal services” that “centered almost entirely on name and gender change cases for transgender individuals” and a “poor reputation statewide, especially among the transgender community and communities of color.” Hoffman also noted “employee retention has been a longstanding issue for FreeState Justice” along with “hiring decisions” and “board disengagement.”

Hoffman also made specific allegations against LaMaster.

“Mr. LaMaster’s mismanagement extends well beyond myself and the leadership team at the time he assumed office,” wrote Hoffman in their letter. “Numerous employees hired over the past two years have come to me to express concerns regarding his management, citing concerns from discriminatory pay structures and broken promises about advancement, inappropriate delegation of personal tasks, providing little or no instruction or oversight of delegated tasks, and even inappropriately using the legitimacy of a minority-led organization as a front for grant applications where the majority of funding would go directly to FreeState Justice.”

A copy of Hoffman’s letter can be found here.

The Blade has reached out to LaMaster for comment on the allegations that Hoffman and Halstead have made against him.

Hoffman told the Blade they are unable to comment because of the “non-disparagement agreement” they were asked to sign “as a condition of my severance.”

“As such, I am contractually unable to offer public comment at this time about FreeState’s former executive director, Jeremy LaMaster,” said Hoffman. “I will, however, confirm that I did draft the March 31 memo, that it was sent to the FreeState Justice board of directors, and that I stand by the recommendations made in that memo.”

FreeState Justice on Tuesday announced Phillip Westry will succeed LaMaster. Tina Jones will be the organization’s new deputy executive director.

The announcement said FreeState Justice on Sept. 16 fired LaMaster “after prolonged and thoughtful deliberation.”

“Every effort was made to make this transition as efficient and amicable as possible,” said FreeState Justice. “In the wake of LaMaster’s termination, he issued a statement that does not reflect the views or ideals of FreeState Justice’s board and staff. The board of directors has earnestly fulfilled its fiduciary duties to the organization and takes these responsibilities very seriously. In working to fulfill FreeState’s mission, the board also remains committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within the organization and in the larger LGBTQIA+ community.”

Tia Hopkins and Antonio Bowens last month became the first openly nonbinary candidates elected to the Maryland Democratic Central Committee.

Hopkins was elected to represent District 40 in Baltimore City, and in an interview with the Baltimore Banner they said that the community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“Everyone has welcomed me with open arms,” Hopkins said. “All the remarks were positive. One person wanted a better explanation of what gender neutral is. It’s people wanting to educate themselves. Obviously, I look female, and I changed my gender to nonbinary. It’s about them understanding that change.”

Bowens was re-elected to represent Frederick County. After winning election in 2018 on the male ticket, they decided to run under the newly created nonbinary option in 2022.

“I tried to be truthful to myself and register as nonbinary,” Bowens said. “The best way to advocate for minority voices is to be active in Frederick politics.”

Bowens said that one of their goals as a committee member is to prepare potential candidates — especially LGBTQ and nonbinary candidates — for success in future elections.

“I want to get in and get the bench filled — to get these people ready and give them the tools to be successful candidates,” they said.

A third nonbinary candidate, Jo Riedel, was unsuccessful in their race to represent Harford County on the committee. Before running for the central committee, Riedel was active in Harford County Democratic politics as a treasure and advisor to the house of delegates candidate.

However, despite their familiarity with Harford County politics, Riedel faced significant pushback as a nonbinary candidate.

“I could have very easily run as a male candidate. I really didn’t ever entertain that thought,” Riedel said. “There were transphobic comments made by other party members, to the point where one of the party officers had to make the point that we’re not going to use Republican talking points on our fellow members.”

Riedel even described an incident at a candidate forum where another Democrat accused them of having multiple personality disorder, because they were wearing a “they/them” button.

Although Riedel’s own election bid was unsuccessful, Riedel said they were proud to be one of the first three Maryland candidates openly designated as nonbinary, and excited for the two other candidates who were elected.

“I am very, very happy and excited for both of them, that they were elected, because they’re good candidates, you know, and not just because they’re nonbinary,” they said.

As Maryland’s Democratic moves forward from this historic first, Riedel stressed there is still more internal work to be done, even as party members celebrate a victory for the nonbinary candidates.

“As a party, we still have work to do, and we’re going to have to address that if we expect to continue to reach out to the queer community,” they said.