Science-Hating Homeschool Mom Sued for Defamation in Ongoing Library Porn Flap
A conservative blogger and homeschooling mom whose video tour of a science museum went viral is being sued by an Illinois librarian as part of an ongoing dispute over Internet pornography.
Megan Fox, a blogger for PJ Media and YouTube commentator, has aggressively campaigned for more than a year to change library policies in Orland Park after she and an associate claimed they saw men viewing porn at the public library.
She and Kevin DuJan — who promotes conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama’s birthplace, drug use, and sexual history — have filed hundreds of Freedom of Information Act requests on library policies and employees.
They have also filed at least 34 complaints with the Illinois attorney general alleging transparency law violations by library staffers.
Fox and DuJan have written numerous blog and social media posts and posted videos of themselves hounding library employees for information.
All of this has cost the suburban Chicago library more than $125,000 in legal fees and keeps two library employees busy for about 35 hours a week, according to spokeswoman Bridget Bittman – a primary target for criticism by the conservative pair.
Bittman, the library marketing and public relations coordinator, has sued Fox, DuJan, two other associates — Dan Kleinman and Adam Andrzejewski – and the activist organization For the Good of Illinois last month in U.S. District Court.
She claims the plaintiffs – none of whom live in Orland Park – have made numerous and intentionally defamatory statements about her as part of their efforts to limit access to pornography at the public library.
Fox apparently found a photo online through a Google image search of Bittman holding a bottle of Champagne, which she posted on her own Facebook page and suggested that she drank alcohol while engaged in work duties at the library.
The conservative activist also posted a video in July on her YouTube channel alleging that police had accused Bittman of disorderly conduct and breach of peace, and other claims the library employee described as false.
The suit claims DuJan filed a complaint against Bittman related to those charges, but police found no evidence to support his claims.
“BREAKING! Video of Bridget Bittman committing Disorderly Conduct/Breach of Peace on 7/8/14. The police have issued her a citation under Ordinance 2989 8-6-1-1,” read a caption to the video. “Remember that Bridget Bittman is not only the spokesman for the Orland Park Public Library (which makes her a public employee) . . . And this is how she behaves herself in public. Trying to start a fight, brandishing some kind of weapon in her hand (mace? pepper spray?), using anti-gay slurs . . . Should a public employee like Bridget Bittman be allowed to keep her $100,000/year job after behaving this way in public and committing disorderly conduct?”
The video was later shared by Andrzejewski on his Illinois Family Institute website and by Kleinman on his Safe Libraries blog, according to the suit.
Fox and DuJan also set up a phony Facebook page, Sassy Plants Illinois, intended to harm the reputation of Bittman and the floral business she operates, the suit claims.
Many of the posts insult residents of neighboring New Lenox, Illinois, along with various inscrutable comments about plants and celebrities.
“Birds are not dinosaurs,” reads one post. “The sign lies. Birds are birds. Duh. Dinosaurs were dinosaurs. The Sally Field Museum can’t be believed on everything, unlike the real Sally Field who seems generally pretty honest.”
Bittman claims Fox and DuJan shared her personal information, including her home address, on the phony Facebook page and their own social media pages.
The suit, which alleges violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Communications Act, seeks compensatory and punitive damages from Fox, DuJan, and their associates.
Watch Fox discuss her ongoing issues with the library in this video she posted online:
