Free speech group defends Maine Rep Laurel Libby after censure over trans athlete post

Republican Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby spoke with OutKick contributor Riley Gaines about her recent lawsuit after being censured for a social media post that sparked a trans athlete-inclusion battle. (Credit: Gaines for Girls Podcast on OutKick)

Five weeks after Maine state representative Laurel Libby was censured for a social media post identifying a trans athlete, a free speech group has filed an amicus brief in support of her lawsuit to overturn the censure. 

The free speech group FIRE, in its brief, argued against the basis of the censure, which was imposed by the Democrat majority and Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau. 

"If political majorities can impose draconian sanctions on political minorities, then no viewpoint is safe. That’s no way to uphold America’s robust commitment to free and open political speech, and that’s why the First Amendment forbids officials from retaliating against dissenting views," FIRE supervising senior attorney JT Morris told Fox News Digital. 

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Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby is sounding the alarm over the state's defiance of President Donald Trump's Executive Order demanding an end to biological males competing in women's sports. (Getty/Maine House of Representatives)

The basis of Libby's censure was that she made a post that identified a minor by name and photo when she called out a trans pole vaulter who won a girls' competition for Greely High School. However, the trans athlete had already been publicized in other local media prior to Libby's post. 

The other media included a post on the Maine House Democrats’ website, the amicus brief alleges.

All of Maine's federal judges have recused themselves from the case. 

The judges, John C.