Jury sides with Pennsylvania teacher in suit against district over Jan. 6 rally

A Pennsylvania school district violated a teacher’s constitutional rights by falsely suggesting he took part in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal jury has concluded.

After an 11-day trial, jurors found the Allentown School District retaliated against Jason Moorehead when it suspended him after the deadly insurrection in Washington and asserted he “was involved in the electoral college protest that took place at the United States Capitol Building.”

Although Moorehead was in Washington to attend Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, he said he never got closer than a mile to the Capitol and was not among the rioters who stormed the building. He has never been charged with a crime.

Moorehead, who taught middle school social studies, said individual school board members later orchestrated a public smear campaign against him even though his teaching record was spotless, claiming they acted out of “ideological hatred.” He said the ordeal has destroyed his reputation and ended his teaching career.

Jurors decided on Friday that the district — one of the largest in the state with more than 16,000 students — should pay Moorehead $125,000 for economic damages. The jury also found that school board member Lisa Conover and former board president Nancy Wilt acted “maliciously or wantonly,” ordering Conover to pay $6,000 in punitive damages and Wilt to pay $500.

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