Teacher, parent win $1M in defamation suits against conservative activist David Gordon

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, JCF

https://www.joemygod.com/2026/06/chatter-away-overnight-open-thread-2999/#comment-6891278580

Northern Virginia
Teacher, parent win $1M in defamation suits against feed on X

By Julie Carey • Published June 19, 2026 • Updated on June 19, 2026 at 11:21 am

A high-profile Virginia teacher and a parent decided to fight back against social media attacks, name-calling and false allegations, each filing defamation lawsuits against the creator of a conservative X feed. ... Both just won judgments of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Fairfax County Public Schools teacher Robert Rigby is a well-known, outspoken figure in the community. The former president of FPCS Pride has publicly advocated for years on behalf of LGBTQ youth. He was used to social media attacks. ... “I’ve been attacked for 20 years,” he said.

But in 2025, posts about him on the X feed known as The Virginia Project made deeply troubling allegations. ... David Gordon created The Virginia Project PAC to raise money for GOP candidates, and he posted on the X feed. The Online State Board Election's campaign finance website shows the PAC is no longer operational, but David Gordon continues to make posts on The Virginia Project X feed.

The 2025 posts cited in the defamation suit make allegations about grooming gangs and child abduction paired with a photo of Rigby from a Daily Wire story. ... Similar social media posts also reference and picture Vanessa Hall as Fairfax County parent and community activist. ... Rigby and Hall turned to Fairfax attorney Jason Zellman.

{snip}

FCPS teacher, parent win defamation lawsuits | NBC4 Washington

NBC4 Washington
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Jun 19 2026
A teacher and a parent in Fairfax County sued a conservative social media account for defamation and won.
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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Fun fact: David Gordon's Virginia Project shares treasurer Chris Marston with Harmeet Dhillon's Center for American ...

Emily Mills
@sf_mills

Fun fact: David Gordon’s Virginia Project shares treasurer Chris Marston with San Francisco’s Friends of Lowell and Harmeet Dhillon’s Center for American Liberty and Moms for Liberty, and Cleta Mitchell, Paul Manafort and Tom Barrack’s Rebuilding America Now.

Jennifer Litton Tidd Âû
@LiberateNDs
Jun 18
Fun Fact: @ProjectVirginia PAC guy, David Gordon lives in NY, hasn’t lived in Virginia since 2013, lost 2 defamation cases about a teacher and local mom, after concocting an absurd scheme derived from his blatant hatred for LGBTQ people. How it started: salon.com/2022/10/06/fro…
7:26 PM · Jun 18, 2026

Link to tweet

Jennifer Litton Tidd Âû
@LiberateNDs

Fun Fact: @ProjectVirginia PAC guy, David Gordon lives in NY, hasn’t lived in Virginia since 2013, lost 2 defamation cases about a teacher and local mom, after concocting an absurd scheme derived from his blatant hatred for LGBTQ people. How it started:

From "grooming" to "child abduction": Right's slurs get more bizarre
From salon.com
6:38 PM · Jun 18, 2026

Link to tweet

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Virginia teacher and mother who were attacked online win defamation suits

Virginia teacher and mother who were attacked online win defamation suits

Linh Bui | [e-mail]
June 22, 2026, 5:24 PM

A Fairfax County, Virginia, teacher and parent, who both became the targets of social media attacks last year, have now been awarded more than $1 million after winning their defamation lawsuits. ... “They’re very relieved,” Jason Zellman, their attorney, said. “I think they feel like there was justice.”

Latin teacher Robert Rigby and stay-at-home mom Vanessa Hall are both active with the Fairfax County Public Schools Pride organization and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. In January and February of 2025, they became the subject of posts from conservative X feed “The Virginia Project,” run by David Gordon.

“They were referred to by a nickname, Rigby Halling, which was a combination of their last names,” Zellman said. “And then the defendant defined Rigby Halling as a pair of notorious child sex perverts who, for some reason, have free run of FCPS.” ... Zellman called the allegations malicious and heinous. The pair was also accused of being part of a child abduction scheme.

“He was also accused of being part of a grooming gang,” Zellman said. “She was accused of having access to children to ask and talk to them about sex.” ... During trial, the defense argued the case was about politics, and liberal versus conservative viewpoints. But the juries ruled the social media posts were defamatory, awarding Rigby $350,000 and awarding Hall $700,000.

“I know neither Mr. Rigby nor Ms. Hall did this for the money. (They) did this to send a message that, first of all, these statements were untrue. And that there has to be a consequence for making such blatantly untrue statements.” ... Zellman called the case a cautionary tale. ...“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but you’re not entitled to make false factual statements accusing others of crimes,” he said. “Your words matter, they have an impact, and just because you’re anonymously posting behind a computer doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want.”

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Linh Bui
Linh most recently worked at WJZ in Baltimore as a reporter and anchor from 2013-2023 and is now teaching at the University of Maryland. Prior to moving to the D.C. region, Linh worked as a reporter and anchor at stations in Fort Myers, Fla. and Macon, Ga.
[e-mail]