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FreeState Justice files lawsuit against former executive director

Jeremy LaMaster allegedly launched ‘coordinated attack’ on organization’s operations

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Former FreeState Justice Executive Director Jeremy LaMaster (Photo courtesy of Jeremy LaMaster)

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 FreeStateā€™s operations.”

“LaMaster abruptly left the meeting early and immediately began a coordinated attack on FreeStateā€™s operations; in particular, its IT assets,” reads the lawsuit. “When FreeState discovered LaMasterā€™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 FreeStateā€™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 employeesā€™ administrative access to numerous systems and accounts, leaving such access to only themself,” reads the lawsuit. “In doing so, LaMaster has left FreeStateā€™s employees with little to no access to client files, case files, dashboard reports,and case notes. LaMaster also changed the password to FreeStateā€™s WordPress account, leaving LaMaster in sole control of FreeStateā€™s website.” 

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

ā€œThis 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,ā€ wrote LaMaster.

LaMaster in their email noted they ā€œexhausted 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.ā€ 

ā€œInstead, 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,ā€ wrote LaMaster. ā€œInstead, 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.ā€

ā€œThese 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,ā€ 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 FreeStateā€™s insistence that they cease their unlawful activities and restore operations immediately, LaMaster proceeded to upload a defamatory post to FreeStateā€™s website and disseminated it to approximately 43,000 recipients on FreeStateā€™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 FreeStateā€™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 FreeStateā€™s cease and desist letter, because LaMaster continues to infiltrate FreeStateā€™s systems and accounts, and because LaMaster, after receiving FreeStateā€™s cease and desist letter published a post defaming FreeState, and without authorization, posted it to FreeStateā€™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 FreeStateā€™s proprietary information to interfere with FreeStateā€™s business relations and continue to interfere with FreeStateā€™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.Ā 

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Maryland

Md. Senate passes transgender sanctuary bill

Measure passed by 33-13 vote margin

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Maryland Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would make Maryland a sanctuary state for transgender people who are seeking gender-affirming health care and providers who offer it.

Senate Bill 119 passed by a 33-13 vote margin.

State Sens. Clarence Lam (D-Anne Arundel and Howard Counties), Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) and Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery County) introduced SB 119. An identical bill has been put forth in the Maryland House of Delegates.

A law that requires Maryland’s Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming treatments took effect on Jan. 1.

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Maryland

Protests interrupt Moms for Liberty meeting about removing books in Howard County schools

Guest speaker led book-removal campaign in Carroll County

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Gabriella Monroe holds a poster that says 'Ban Bigotry Not Books' outside Howard Countyā€™s Central Branch library in Columbia on Feb. 26, 2024 (Photo by Sam Mallon for the Baltimore Banner)

BY KRISTEN GRIFFITHĀ | When a Howard County chapter of Moms for Liberty wanted to learn how to remove books from schools, they wereĀ met with a swarm of protesters sporting rainbow colors and signsĀ looking to send the message that such actions are not welcome in their district.

The conservative parentsā€™ group met Monday night at Howardā€™s Central Branch library in Columbia to brainstorm how they could get books they deemed inappropriate out of their childrenā€™s school libraries. Their guest speaker for the evening was Jessica Garland, who led a successful book-removal campaign in Carroll County. The Howard chapter wanted the playbook.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

Are Md. prisons out of bounds with federal requirements for trans prisoners?

Department of Correctional Services says transgender prisoners ā€˜housed according to physical genitaliaā€™

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BY BEN CONARCK | Nearly a year after formerly incarcerated transgender people testified to Maryland lawmakers about the troubling conditions they faced in state prisons and Baltimore jails, the agency in charge of their care continues to violate federal standards in how it houses trans prisoners, according to a coalition of trans rights advocates.

The Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition, bolstered by policy experts and attorneys, contends that while the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has made some strides towards improving conditions, its policy of housing trans prisoners ā€œaccording to physical genitaliaā€ violates the federal standard that those individuals should be housed on a case-by-case basis determined by health and safety and any security problems, among other factors. The group laid out its argument in a 15-page memo presented to the department and lawmakers this week.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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