Maine judges refuse to take Rep Laurel Libby's court case on censure for trans athlete post

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

After Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby filed a lawsuit over her recent censure for a social media post pointing out a trans athlete in a girls' competition, all of Maine's federal judges have recused themselves from the case. 

The judges, John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen, signed recusal orders on Tuesday, shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was provided for the judges' recusal. The case has since been referred to the District of Rhode Island, per multiple reports.

Libby was censured by the state House of Representatives on Feb. 25 in a partisan 75-70 vote. The basis of the censure was that Libby posted a photograph and named a trans athlete who was under 18 after the athlete won first place for Greely High School at a state girls' pole vault competition. But Libby and her attorneys argue the athlete had already been publicized by other media outlets prior to her post. 

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Laurel Libby

Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who passed the censure, is the main defendant in the lawsuit alongside House of Representatives clerk Robert Hunt. The Maine Attorney General’s Office will represent Fecteau.

Libby's lawsuit seeks to have her voting and speaking rights restored. Fecteau previously said Libby's rights would be restored when she apologized, but she does not intend to apologize. Libby told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday that she encourages