ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A federal jury awarded a former Allentown School District social studies teacher a modest payout Friday evening after he alleged school officials violated his civil rights for punishing and ultimately firing him after he attended the Jan. 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally.
The jury awarded Jason Moorehead $131,500 in damages after he alleged the district and school officials violated his constitutional rights when it smeared his name for his conservative politics and acted on the FBI's behalf in a criminal investigation.
He alleged the district also violated Moorehead's rights under the teachers union collective bargaining agreement when it suspended him without cause for seven months before ultimately terminating him.
The school district is on the hook for $125,000 of that amount while school board member Lisa Conover and former school board President Nancy Wilt were ordered to pay Moorehead $6,000 and $500, respectively, for maliciously and wantonly violating his rights, according to court documents.
"At this point, we have no other comment other than respecting the jury's verdict."Brian Taylor, attorney representing the Allentown School District
School board member Phoebe Harris and former Superintendent Thomas Parker were also named in the suit, but the jury determined they did not violate Moorehead's rights.
"We are gratified that a federal jury recognized that the Allentown School District violated Jason Moorehead’s First Amendment rights to free speech, assembly, and political affiliation, and recognized that then school Board Members Nancy Wilt and Lisa Conover maliciously and wantonly attacked him," AJ Fleuhr, Moorehead's attorney, said in a prepared statement. "There was never any justification for this insidious and Orwellian course of action.”
Visit to Washington, D.C.
It was not immediately clear whether the amount awarded by the jury aligned with what Moorehead was seeking in his lawsuit. His amended complaint did not state a dollar amount, but he requested damages for loss of earnings, loss of career, reputational damage, mental and emotional pain and suffering as well as punitive damages.
He also sought a public statement from the district acknowledging he was not present at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
The 17-year veteran teacher at Raub Middle School attended then-President Donald Trump's protest of the Electoral College count of the 2020 presidential election. But while thousands of the rally-goers proceeded to storm the U.S. Capitol Building, Moorehead maintained he never was within a mile of the violence.
Instead, Moorehead said he bought a hot dog, took a bus back home to the Lehigh Valley and posted memes on social media about the events.
Seeking retraction
But the district quickly caught wind that Moorehead had been in D.C. and saw his light-hearted comments on Facebook about the political unrest. He was suspended indefinitely the next day and Parker released a public statement acknowledging the district was investigating a staff member who had been at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6.
While Moorehead wasn't named in the statement, outraged members of the public soon identified him as the teacher under investigation. His name, photo and home address were released online by social activists, and Moorehead feared for his and his family's safety, he testified.
He and his attorneys demanded repeatedly that the district retract its statement and clarify that Moorehead did not attend the riot, but the district still has not three and a half years later.
District officials testified at the trial that the district's investigation of Moorehead wrapped up by April 2021. They attempted to recall him back to work in July so long as he took a cultural sensitivity course over his social media posts.
Termination
While he likely wouldn't return to the classroom due to his standing in the community, he would have had a position and paycheck developing curriculum in the district's administrative office, according to court testimony.
But Moorehead refused, claiming the district had created an unsafe, hostile work environment. The district ultimately fired him after determining he had legally abandoned his position.
Brian Taylor, an attorney representing the district and school officials, confirmed the verdict Friday night.
While Moorehead and his attorneys attempted to paint the case as a civil rights matter, the district held that it was an employment dispute, he said.
"At this point, we have no other comment other than respecting the jury's verdict," Taylor said.
