Juries in two separate civil trials in Fairfax County, Va., last month awarded a gay teacher and an LGBTQ-supportive parent a combined total of just over $1 million in damages from a conservative group and its leader accused in their lawsuits of falsely and maliciously linking the two to a “child abduction ring” and other illegal actions involving children.

The teacher, Robert Rigby Jr., and the parent, Vanessa Hall, have been active members for many years of Fairfax County Public Schools Pride, an organization of teachers, school administrators and parents that advocates for LGBTQ-supportive school policies.

Their respective lawsuits were filed last year against what they describe as a Republican-supportive political action committee or PAC called the Virginia Project and its founder and chairperson, David Gordon. The lawsuits say Gordon “is responsible for curating and managing TVP’s social media content, including its posts and comments on Twitter,” which has renamed itself as X.

“Beginning in early 2025, defendants amplified an ongoing harassment and intimidation campaign they previously launched against Mr. Rigby by and through TVP’s Twitter handle, @ProjectVirginia,” Rigby’s lawsuit states.

It adds that on Jan. 3, 2025, “defendants retweeted a post by Bill Ackman stating that ‘hundreds of thousands of young British girls have been gang raped by members of principally one ethnic group.’” According to the lawsuit, “preceding” that post, the defendants tweeted, “in NoVA they call it Rigbyhalling.”

In response to a question that someone else posted asking what was “Rigbyhalling,” the defendants responded that it corresponded to “a pair of notorious child sex perverts with free run of FCPS (Fairfax County Public Schools) that for some reason aren’t yet in prison,” Rigby’s lawsuit states. The lawsuit states that the defendants, referring to the Virginia Project PAC and Gordon, used the word “pair” to refer to Rigby and Hall.”

It says the defendants tweeted that the FCPS Pride group, which Rigby co-founded, is a “grooming gang” and included a photo of Rigby in that post. In a Feb. 6, 2025, tweet, according to the lawsuit, the defendants stated, “[w]e need to talk about this child abduction scheme that we caught running out of Fairfax County Public Schools.”

Hall’s lawsuit also mentions the “Rigbyhalling” allegation. In addition, it states that Hall was subjected to “numerous false and defamatory statements,” among other things claiming she is an “unemployed crazy person” who has been given access to children “to ask them about sex.” Her lawsuit quotes one of the Virginia Project PAC’s postings as saying her actions were an “obscene scandal that for some reason is allowed to continue.”

It adds, “defendants’ false and defamatory statements were published with actual malice, as defendants knew the statements were false and acted with reckless disregard for the truth.”

Hall’s lawsuit describes her as a longtime community, school and church volunteer who has provided public input at Fairfax County School Board meetings “to support the safety, education, and civil rights of public school students, staff, and their families, primarily focusing on LGBTQIA+ and disability rights.”

The jury trials for both cases were held in the Fairfax County Circuit Court.

Jason Zellman, the Virginia attorney who represented both Rigby and Hall, said the trial for Rigby’s case took place June 8 through June 10. He said the trial for Hall’s case was held June 15 through June 17.

D. Hayden Fisher, the attorney listed in court records as representing the Virginia Project and Gordon, did not respond to a request from the Washington Blade for comment on the jury verdicts against his client.

In his initial “answer” to the Rigby lawsuit filed in court on July 23, 2025, Fisher’s court filing says his client denies the allegations that “it engages in intimidation, publishes disinformation, or engages in any of the other tactics and untoward conduct alleged herein.” It says that any statements made by the defendants that express opinions are protected under the First Amendment as free speech.

NBC Washington reported that the attorney for Gordon and the Virginia Project PAC sent it a statement saying his client will appeal the two jury verdicts, which he said were “improper as a matter of law.”  Without identifying the lawyer by name, NBC Washington said the lawyer’s statement added, “The verdicts will be tossed, and a new trial ordered.”

Zellman, the attorney representing Rigby and Hall, told the Blade he believes both cases are strong and would prevail if the defendants appeal. He said any appeal would likely argue that the Twitter posts about Rigby and Hall were opinions protected by free speech.

“I don’t think that’s going to be a very good legal argument for them,” he said. “Maybe there could have been some qualifying language like in my opinion or ‘I think.’” Zelman said. “There was no language like that with these statements. It was all very declarative, actual assertions,” he added. “So, I think we’re in good shape.”

The juries awarded Rigby $350,000 in compensation for damages from the Virginia Project and Gordon and awarded $750,000 for Hall. It couldn’t immediately be determined if Gordon and his PAC have the financial resources to pay that money.

Rigby said he retired as a teacher after more than 20 years of teaching in 2022 but has since returned to continue teaching part time.

“I can tell you if I don’t see any money out of this, that’s ok,” he told the Blade. “Because I stood up for myself. I stood up for teachers who get accused of things all the time,” he said. “I stood up for people in the LGBTQ community and for parents who have terrible things said about them – I stood up for them.”