Conservative PAC moves to dismiss defamation lawsuit filed by State Sen. Megan Hunt

OMAHA, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — The Nebraska Freedom Coalition has filed a motion seeking to dismiss what it called a “frivolous lawsuit” leveled against it by State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha.

Hunt, upon filing her lawsuit last month in Douglas County District Court, asserted that the coalition, a conservative political action committee, had defamed her by publicly accusing her of sexually grooming and abusing her own child.

She was backed in her effort by the Nebraska Legal Action Fund, an organization founded by former State Sen. Adam Morfeld to “protect Nebraskans who are defamed by extremists.”

In its seven-page motion to dismiss Hunt’s lawsuit, the coalition said Hunt was a public figure “and the context was one of legislative debate.” It said her statements are “a matter of public concern which pertain to a political matter.”

The coalition, in a media statement, called Hunt’s lawsuit “an attempt to intimidate conservatives who refuse to accept the misinformation of liberal progressives and Cultural Marxism.”

The coalition said it also wanted to “take this opportunity” to remind Nebraskans of Legislative Bill 575, known as the Sports and Spaces Act. That legislation, which could be debated next session, would define K-12 school bathrooms, sporting teams and locker rooms as either male or female according to sex assigned at birth.

“If politicians who advocate for the LGBT agenda are allowed to say anything they want, and at the same time they feel empowered to shut down any and all political debate they deem inconvenient, all Nebraskans will suffer from the censorship and the taking of their fundamental right to free speech,” the coalition’s statement said.

Morfeld, in response, said Hunt is a staunch advocate for free speech who regularly exercises her First Amendment rights.

He added, “It is well settled that accusing someone of a serious crime such as child abuse with no basis in fact is not protected speech under the First Amendment and it is defamation per se. No mother should have to endure that in Nebraska.” 

Filed in late June, Hunt’s lawsuit said that as a result of the coalition’s public and “false” statements on Twitter, she received death threats, tweets, calls and emails calling her a pedophile and an abuser of her 13-year-old child. 

The coalition’s tweets came after Hunt in March made a personal testimony during legislative debate on a measure to ban gender-affirming care for youths. She described how LB 574 would impact her and her transgender son. 

She also said that the coalition — founded in 2021 as a nonprofit corporation and a PAC — “leaned into its lies after a retraction demand, reiterated its lies and then expressly stated that the coalition intended to accuse Hunt of a serious crime.”

The coalition, which has about 3,220 followers on Twitter, vowed in its statement to continue to share its information with lawmakers and Nebraska voters.

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