Maine House censures lawmaker for post about transgender student
The Maine State House in Augusta lit up at night during the 2024 legislative session. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)
The Maine House of Representatives voted to censure Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) for posting on her legislative Facebook page photographs and personal details about a transgender high school athlete.
Days after the post, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold funding from Maine for not complying with his executive order seeking to ban transgender women from competing in sports that correspond with their gender identity. In her post, Libby referred to a policy of the Maine Principals' Association that continues to allow such participation in scholastic sports in accordance with the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, among other protected classes.
After the 75-70 vote Tuesday night to censure — an official statement of condemnation by the Legislature — Libby declined to submit an apology to the body, meaning she is in violation of the House rules and therefore unable to cast a vote or speak on the floor until she complies.
'I urge you, and indeed every member of this body, to recommit to keeping kids out of the political fray as has long been observed in both our state and federal politic,' Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) said to Libby after the vote. 'Maine kids and all Maine people deserve better.'
Fecteau explained on the floor that he reached out to Libby earlier this week to request she take down the post, which has since received national attention, but she refused.
In a floor speech ahead of the vote, Libby began her remarks referencing other policy decisions, including criticizing how the Legislature and governor handled the COVID-19 pandemic and passage of a law expanding access to abortion later in pregnancy. The comments, however, drew several point of order objections as lawmakers asked Libby to keep her comments to the resolution at hand. Those objections bubbled to a chorus when the representative said, 'Boys participating in girls sports is not fair.'
House Majority Leader Matt Moonen (D-Portland), who proposed the censure, pointed to the Legislature's code of ethics, which states that members are 'charged with civility and responsible conduct inside and outside of the State House' and 'entrusted with the security, safety, health, prosperity, respect and general well-being of those the legislator serves.'
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) argued the code of ethics does not refer to online or social media posts, and that Libby's post also didn't violate Facebook's community standards.
'This censure motion makes a mockery of the censure process,' Faulkingham said. 'It sets a standard that says that the majority party, when they're displeased with a social media post that upsets them, can censure a member of the minority party, and by a majority vote, censure them.'
In a statement issued after the vote, Faulkingham also accused Democrats of using what he referred to as a 'sham' censure to distract from the supplemental budget proposal to address an imminent Medicaid funding shortfall that is currently still in limbo.
'Instead of solving pressing problems,' he wrote, 'they have attempted to divert public attention to a social media post.'
Democrats characterized the moment differently.
'Recognizing the gravity of these harmful actions should not be a partisan issue,' Moonen said on the House floor. It arguably had not been before the censure motion, Moonen added, pointing to comments from Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage about Libby's actions. While Savage criticized the Maine Principals Association's decision in an interview with WGAN, he called for those sharing Libby's post to have 'a dose of humanity.'
'I think if you're a young person who is struggling with identity, I don't think we need to be putting you at the center of anything and making you a focal point for an entire state or nation,' Savage said.
Trump administration launches investigation into Maine schools over transgender policy
While some Republican representatives expressed their disapproval of Libby's actions, they stopped short Tuesday of taking official action to reprimand their colleague.
'I think my colleague's actions were cruel, callous and reprehensible,' said Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland). However, Boyer explained he'd be voting against censure. 'I have concerns about regulating members' conduct on social media,' he said.
Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) said what legislators should be asking is whether Libby is being afforded freedom of speech.
'This youth's name and picture, similar to those used in her post, could be found easily with a simple Google search,' Poirier said. 'If Rep. Libby had posted the same picture, the same name with sentiments of congratulations, would we be here doing the censure right now? I think we know the answer to that.'
Democratic lawmakers pushed back, describing the post as 'doxing,' or sharing personal identifying information about someone with malicious intent. Rep. Jan Dodge (D-Belfast) said the narrative Libby posted about the student took the post well beyond the act of publishing a photo of a minor online.
'I'd like to note that the representative from Auburn had the forethought to blur the faces of some of the student athletes in the social media post, but not this athlete,' Dodge said.
Rep. Michael Lemelin (R-Chelsea) — who was censured last year for implying that the Legislature's passage of the bill expanding access to abortion later in pregnancy caused the Lewiston shooting by invoking God's wrath — pushed back on accusations of doxing because Libby has not said she intended to do harm. Lemelin then referred to the act of censuring Libby as 'a lynching.'
Rep. Christina Mitchell (D-Cumberland), a teacher who represents the county where the student in the post resides, said parents have reached out to her to express their upset and concern.
'The representative from Auburn's actions have directly harmed the school, the families and our children in my community, and it's all happening because one person, an adult, a legislator, chose to use a child to score political points,' Mitchell said.
Other Democrats echoed this sentiment in their remarks, arguing lawmakers should 'keep the kids out of it.'
'Before social media coarsened our civic discourse, it was pretty much universally accepted,' Rep. William Bridgeo (D-Augusta) said. 'Any effort to ignore or undermine that principle is unacceptable and it does need to be condemned.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

28 minutes ago
Hong Kong police accuse a mobile game app of promoting armed revolution
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong police on Tuesday accused a mobile game application of advocating armed revolution and promoting secessionist agendas, saying that those who publish it or share it with others online may risk violating national security laws. The announcement — the first to publicly denounce a gaming app — indicates that authorities are widening the crackdown that has followed anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities have crushed or silenced many dissenting voices through prosecutions under the 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing and a similar, homegrown law enacted last year. In a statement, police warned residents against downloading the 'Reversed Front: Bonfire" application, saying those with the app installed might be seen as possessing a publication with a seditious intention. They also warned people against providing financial assistance to the application developer, including making in-app purchases. ''Reversed Front: Bonfire' was released under the guise of a game with the aim of promoting secessionist agendas such as 'Taiwan independence' and 'Hong Kong independence,' advocating armed revolution and the overthrow of the fundamental system of the People's Republic of China,' police said. The game application was developed by ESC Taiwan, which did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment. On the application's Facebook page, the developer posted about surging searches for the game name and a Hong Kong broadcaster's news report about Tuesday's development. According to the application's introduction, players can assume the role of Hong Kong, Tibet, Uyghur, Taiwan or Cathaysian Rebel factions, among others, to overthrow the communist regime. They may also choose to lead the communists to defeat all enemies. The game's website says it 'is a work of nonfiction. Any similarity to actual agencies, policies or ethnic groups of the PRC in this game is intentional.' On Tuesday night, the app was still available on Apple's App Store but not on the Google Play store. The game publisher last month said Google Play had taken the app down because it did not prohibit users from adopting hateful language in naming. Apple, Google and Meta have not immediately commented. After playing the game for about three months, Kuo Hao Fu in Taiwan said he found that its content uses a humorous approach to describe serious political issues. Fu disagreed with the police accusations, saying players can also choose to be part of the force representing China. 'The Hong Kong police's actions demonstrate how Hong Kong's democratic freedoms have been controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,' he said. 'When even this level cannot be tolerated, it completely destroys creative freedom in gaming.' China considers Taiwan its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Many Taiwanese in the self-ruled island showed concerns about Hong Kong's declining freedoms under Beijing's grip. The Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the city's national security laws were necessary to return stability to the city following the protests.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
TN Republicans' bill would oust officials who release 'confidential' immigration enforcement details
Top Tennessee Republican lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it a felony and grounds for removal if public officials jeopardize the safety of federal law enforcement officers or disrupt federal immigration enforcement by revealing confidential operation details. The bill, filed by House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson on June 9, comes after a weeklong operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nashville in early May. The operation led to hundreds of traffic stops, in coordination with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and nearly 200 arrests. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has been under scrutiny from state and federal Republican leaders over his response to the arrests. During the operation, O'Connell updated an existing executive order that requires city departments to report communications with federal immigration officials to the mayor's office, tightening the timeline for those reports. Even in its original version, the executive order included a provision that those communications be posted online for transparency. When O'Connell's office posted that list in late May, it originally included the names of some officials who called. Those names have since been removed from the version of the spreadsheet posted online. During the sweeps in Nashville, O'Connell also repeatedly asked federal officials to release the names and charges of the people arrested, but to no avail. Some community members, meanwhile, were outspoken in their opposition to the operation. Immigrant rights groups and other Nashvillians showed up to protest at Nashville's ICE office not long after the sweeps began on May 4. That opposition extended to further protests several weeks later, an appearance from New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and a volunteer effort to monitor and verify ICE activity. U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and other D.C. Republicans have since called for a federal investigation into O'Connell, which was officially initiated on May 30. Meanwhile, Sexton called for O'Connell to rescind his executive order, saying it risks the safety of federal immigration agents. "The people of Tennessee expect their elected leaders to protect law enforcement — not endanger them," Johnson said in a June 9 news release. "When a public official like Mayor O'Connell chooses political activism over public safety, especially by interfering with federal immigration enforcement, he has no business holding office in this state." Johnson said he hopes the legislation "sends a message" to O'Connell and other "blue city" leaders that may act similarly. 'Mayor O'Connell's public refusal to rescind his executive order makes the need for this legislation unmistakably clear to prevent future political defiance that undermines the rule of law and puts law enforcement at risk,' Johnson said in the release. Sexton and Johnson did not provide any examples of O'Connell's interference with immigration enforcement operations. The bill would make it a Class E felony for state or local officials to "negligently release" information that identifies officers tasked with immigration enforcement and paves the way to oust those who violate the law, according to the release. Additionally, it expands provisions under the Tennessee Public Records Act to protect undercover officers and sensitive enforcement activity and beefs up penalties for unauthorized disclosures of protected law enforcement information. The bill is backed by top Senate Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile, Republican Caucus Chair Ken Yager and Finance Committee Chair Bo Watson. It is set to be taken up in the 2026 legislative session. O'Connell's office had not responded to The Tennessean's request for comment by 11 a.m. on June 10. The move by Tennessee Republicans comes a few days after U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, introduced legislation to make it illegal to 'dox' federal law enforcement officials. She said the bill is a direct response to the spreadsheet published by O'Connell's office detailing recent communications between city departments with federal immigration agents. Blackburn filed the Protecting Law Enforcement From Doxxing Act on June 4, explicitly naming O'Connell as the impetus. That bill would make it illegal to 'publish the name of a federal law enforcement officer with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration operation.' An individual found guilty of doing so would face a fine and imprisonment of five years. In their joint news release on June 9, Sexton and Johnson praised Blackburn's efforts and say their proposed legislation complements her proposal. "Tennessee has always stood with law enforcement and we will not allow politically motivated actors to put officers' lives in danger simply to score political points with the far left," Sexton said in the release. "Tennessee will not become California, and Nashville will not become LA or San Francisco on our watch." Typically, "doxxing" refers to the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet, such as their home addresses, private contact information and names of family members. As for the public availability of law enforcement officers' names, they are not typically considered private information. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN bill would punish officials who reveal immigration enforcement details

USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Newsom should be 'tarred and feathered' for defying Trump, Speaker Johnson says
Newsom should be 'tarred and feathered' for defying Trump, Speaker Johnson says 'I'm not gonna give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested. But he ought to be tarred and feathered,' Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. Show Caption Hide Caption Los Angeles residents take pride in their city amid ICE protests USA TODAY spoke with Los Angeles residents about recent ICE raids and protests. House Speaker Mike Johnson is piling onto the Republican attacks aimed at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, telling reporters on June 10 that the state Democrat should be 'tarred and feathered' for challenging President Donald Trump over immigration enforcement. 'That's not my lane. I'm not gonna give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested. But he ought to be tarred and feathered,' Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said in the U.S. Capitol during his weekly news conference. On June 9, Trump said "it would be a great thing" if his border czar Tom Homan arrested Newsom. The governor has challenged Trump's decision to call the California National Guard to Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration enforcement. Trump has also ordered 700 Marines be sent to the nation's second-largest city. In his news conference, Johnson said Newsom is keeping the Trump administration from implementing federal law. "He's standing in the way of the administration and the carrying out of federal law. He is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys. He is a participant, an accomplice in our federal law enforcement agents being not just disrespected, but assaulted," Johnson said. "This is a serious problem." Newsom quickly responded on social media. 'Good to know we're skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700's style forms of punishment. A fitting threat given the (Republicans) want to bring our country back to the 18th Century.' Johnson on Newsom lawsuit: 'What a joke' Johnson also criticized Newsom for filing a lawsuit against Trump for sending the California National Guard to Los Angeles over his objections. "What a joke," Johnson said. "Do your job, man." The House speaker also said protests can quickly get out of hand in large cities. "If local and state officials are unwilling or unable to do their job, the president of the United States will do his and we support that fully," Johnson said. The last time a president called in the National Guard over the objections of the state governor was in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to escort civil rights marchers participating in the Selma-Montgomery March in Alabama.