School districts weaponized the legal system to silence concerned parents.
One brave Wisconsin mother refused to back down.
And a conservative mom sued for calling a DEI teacher "woke" just got the last laugh.
The radical left thought they could intimidate Scarlett Johnson into silence.
Johnson serves as chair of Moms for Liberty's Ozaukee County chapter in Wisconsin and made headlines when she questioned why taxpayers were funding a "Social Justice Coordinator" position at the Mequon-Thiensville School District.
She posted a screenshot of the coordinator's LinkedIn profile on social media in October 2022 asking, "Why the hell am I paying for a 'Social Justice Coordinator' in my school district?"¹
The lawsuit that shocked conservative parents nationwide
Mary MacCudden, the former English teacher who held that social justice position, filed a defamation lawsuit against Johnson.
MacCudden didn't like being called out for her role pushing woke ideology into Wisconsin classrooms.
In other posts, Johnson called DEI specialists "woke lunatics" and "bullies" who push parents "into silence and compliance."²
MacCudden's taxpayer-funded position shows exactly what's broken in education today.
Teachers are begging for classroom supplies and dealing with 35-kid classrooms. Meanwhile, districts hand out six-figure salaries to diversity coordinators who never teach a single math lesson or help a kid learn to read.
MacCudden sued Johnson for defamation, claiming the social media posts were false and malicious.
A circuit court initially allowed parts of the case to proceed, which sent shockwaves through parent rights groups across the country.
If Johnson lost, every parent who spoke out against woke school policies would face the same legal harassment.
The message was clear: shut up or face financial ruin from endless legal bills.
The appeals court delivers a crushing blow to the censorship regime
But Johnson and her attorneys at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty refused to back down.
They appealed the circuit court's decision, arguing Johnson's comments were protected First Amendment speech.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals sided with Johnson in a ruling that will protect parents nationwide.³
"We conclude that Johnson's statements do not constitute defamation. Thus, we reverse and remand for the circuit court to enter summary judgment in Johnson's favor," the appeals court ruled.
The court found terms like "bully" and "lunatic" are subjective opinions, not factual statements that could be proven true or false.
Even better, the judges ruled words like "woke," "White savior," and "god complex" are "vague and do not have a clear meaning or definition."⁴
Translation: calling someone woke isn't defamation, it's protected political speech under the First Amendment.
One dissenting judge tried to argue the posts identified MacCudden by name and might imply undisclosed facts a jury should consider.
But the majority shut that nonsense down fast.
This wasn't Johnson's first rodeo with legal intimidation
Johnson revealed this wasn't the first time the left tried to silence her through lawsuits.
She faced a similar defamation claim just days before a 2021 school board election.
The timing was no coincidence, designed to knock her off balance right when it mattered most.
Johnson previously battled Bridge the Divide after calling them a Marxist organization, settling that case before trial.⁵
"I felt I had to fight back in this case. It couldn't be like the other. I had to stand up because this would never stop," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "They'd keep going after parents like me."⁶
The strategy is obvious now that you see the pattern.
Left-wing activists and their school board allies use the legal system as a weapon to bankrupt and intimidate conservative parents into silence.
They know most parents can't afford years of legal bills fighting defamation lawsuits.
That's why groups like the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty are so critical, providing free legal defense for parents targeted by this lawfare.
The precedent that protects every parent in America
Johnson hopes the ruling encourages other parents to speak out against radical ideologies in government schools without fear of being dragged into court.
"This sets legal precedent," she stated. "Parents everywhere can speak the truth about what's happening in their schools with a little less fear that they're going to be dragged into court for frivolous lawsuits."⁷
WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg praised the ruling.
"Scarlett, like all of us, has the right to question and criticize her government. The defamation lawsuit against her was meritless and should have been promptly dismissed. We are pleased that the Court agreed, and that Scarlett can put this distraction behind her," Berg said.⁸
This decision comes as Trump Administration Education Secretary Linda McMahon moves to eliminate DEI programs from schools nationwide.
The federal government ordered K-12 education agencies to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in February 2025, claiming they violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.⁹
Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly, a Democrat, refused to comply with the directive and called it "potentially unlawful."¹⁰
But Underly's resistance shows exactly why Johnson's legal victory matters so much.
School administrators who support woke ideology will use every tool available to silence opposition.
That includes weaponizing defamation laws against parents who dare question how their tax dollars get spent.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals just made it much harder for them to succeed with that strategy.
Parents can now criticize DEI coordinators, social justice programs, and woke policies without worrying that telling the truth will land them in court.
School districts got away with intimidating parents into silence for years.
Thanks to Scarlett Johnson's courage and the attorneys who defended her, those days are over.
¹ Kristine Parks, "Conservative mom sued for calling DEI teacher 'woke' celebrates as defamation case tossed," Fox News, November 2, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ "State superintendent says federal request to eliminate DEI programs appears 'unlawful,' Wisconsin schools won't comply," The Daily Cardinal, April 11, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
