ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An ex-Allentown teacher who attended former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” rally took the stand this week as his lawsuit against the Allentown School District plays out in federal court.
Jason Moorehead, a former social studies teacher at Raub Middle School, testified for hours Tuesday and Wednesday, claiming the district retaliated against him for his conservative views and violated his First Amendment rights.
Moorehead said the district falsely linked him to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol via a public statement and failed to clear his name after an investigation proved he did not participate in the violent riot.
Moorehead was in Washington, D.C., that day at a rally about a mile away from the Capitol.
The Jan. 7, 2021, ASD statement said the district "was made aware" a staff member was involved in “the electoral college protest that took place at the United States Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.”
Though the district statement did not name anyone, Moorehead said community members were linking him to it online.
“This thing has been going on so long. Let me be free to move on to whatever the next chapter is.”Jason Moorehead, former Raub Middle School teacher
Moorehead said ASD allowed the community to believe false narratives about him being a “racist," “white supremacist" and "insurrectionist."
He was placed on paid leave for months before ultimately being fired in 2022.
District points to social media
Attorneys for the district deny Moorehead’s claims and instead argue his troubles are the result of his own actions — such as sharing “distasteful” memes on Facebook and refusing to take district-mandated cultural competency training in order to return to work.
“My goal the entire time was to have the district correct the record,” Moorehead said.
Moorehead's attorneys presented evidence showing news outlets incorrectly placed Moorehead at the insurrection by citing ASD's statement.
Shorav Kaushik, an attorney for ASD, presented evidence showing the district received concerned messages through its Let’s Talk portal incorrectly assuming Moorehead was at the insurrection before ASD’s public statement was ever published.
Community members were calling Moorehead a “domestic terrorist,” an “insurrectionist” and a “white supremacist” independent of anything the district said or did, Kaushik said. Instead, people were drawing these conclusions based on Facebook posts Moorehead himself made that were being shared online.
One of Moorehead’s social media posts featured him at the “Stop the Steal” rally, captioned “Doing my civic duty!” Another showed Moorehead waiting in line for a hot dog.
The "Stop the Steal" movement is composed of people who believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. Moorehead said he was at the rally to express his distrust of the media.
Moorehead also later shared memes about the insurrection, including one he captioned, “Wrong on so many levels, but hilarious none the less.”
ASD investigation
Kaushik said Moorehead was placed on leave in part because of the disruption his social media postings caused the school district. Moorehead said he didn’t realize the extent of how “horrific” the insurrection was when he made some of his posts.
Throughout his testimony, Moorehead complained he did not have an opportunity to speak with the district besides a Jan. 8, 2021, interview. He did not believe he had a chance to properly share his side of the story. Kaushik pointed out Moorehead did not attend a district hearing in April 2021 allowing him to do just that.
In July 2021, Moorehead received a letter from ASD’s human resources department updating him on the findings of its investigation and reinstating him to a teaching role.
The letter said ASD had investigated whether he adhered to the district’s electronic device policy, personal day policy and board policy on outside activities for staff.
ASD found Moorehead only violated its policy for electronic devices. He did not violate any policies by attending the Washington rally.
Still, the district said his reinstatement to a teaching position was contingent upon completing a cultural competency training on the history of Hispanic and African-American people.
The HR letter said Moorehead’s social media post calling a meme of the insurrection “hilarious” made light of violence. The letter also said Moorehead’s post was “thoughtless,” “insensitive” and “uncaring.”
Concerns over safety
An attorney for the district said Moorehead did not respond to his reinstatement letter by the stated deadline. Moorehead instead responded about two weeks later, pushing back on the cultural competency training and saying work was unsafe for him to return.
Moorehead testified that he did not understand why his conservative values would necessitate the need for racial training. He also said it was unsafe for him to return to any teaching position until the district publicly stated he was not at the insurrection.
Without a new public statement, Moorehead believes parents would still think he’s a racist and students would call him such anytime they disagreed with a grade or received disciplinary action.
He taught at Raub for 17 years.
'The next chapter'
Moorehead's attorney said the former teacher was constructively fired, meaning Moorehead did not return to work due to conditions any reasonable person would find intolerable.
He has been working as an office assistant for his attorneys since late 2021 and has not attempted to return to teaching.
Moorehead and his lawyers maintain the district needs to publicly correct the record regarding Moorehead and the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
“This thing has been going on so long,” Moorehead said. “Let me be free to move on to whatever the next chapter is.”
The trial is continuing in federal court in Allentown.
