All posts tagged "jenny oakley"

Judge rejects Fox News-inspired Georgia man who rained hate on school administrator

A federal judge rejected the argument of a Georgia man that his email to an Indiana public school administrator, saying people should punch, kick, urinate on and throw feces at her, is not merely “ill-mannered and rude” but a jury could find it “extreme and outrageous.”

The lawsuit brought by Jennifer Oakley and her husband, Justin Oakley, of Martinsville, Ind., can proceed after defendant Samuel P. Warren of Canton, Ga., asked for it to be dismissed, Judge Matthew P. Brookman of the Southern District of Indiana ruled.

Raw Story first reported on Warren’s email as part of an investigation published in August.

Warren’s threats appear to have been prompted in April 2023 by a segment on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, which featured a conservative nonprofit’s hidden camera video, obtained under false pretense, that accused public school administrators in Indiana, including Oakley, of “stealthily teaching students principles associated with critical race theory.”

Eleven minutes after the program ended, Warren sent Oakley an email that contained a passage wondering why Oakley hadn’t found a “tall tree with a short piece of rope.” Warren also expressed hope that someone would push Oakley out of an airplane at 30,000 feet.

Among the statements Warren made in his email to Oakley:

“How is it that you still have a job and not found your way to a tall tree with a short piece of rope??”

“Everyone you ever encounter after that should spit in your face, fling their feces at you (with impeccable aim), punch you, knock you down, kick you, piss on you and hold you there for similar treatment by everyone waiting in line for their turn — you despicable sad excuse for a sub-human being.”

“With any luck, someone else on the airplane will recognize you and jettison you from the aircraft at 30,000 feet over the ocean at least 200 miles from any land.”

“There is a special place in hell for which you richly deserve to be consigned to for eternity — there is no hope of redemption.”

Brookman, the judge, wrote, “Mr. Warren contacted Ms. Oakley directly and personally attacked her in a manner that could plausibly be described as an intentional attempt to cause her severe emotional distress. … While ‘extreme and outrageous’ is a high bar, Ms. Oakley's allegations are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss.”

The judge also rejected an argument that Warren’s speech was directed at a public official and therefore protected by the First Amendment. The judge cited case law saying that not all public employees are “public officials.”

The Oakleys are asking for a civil jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys fees.

Oakley, a mid-level administrator, said Accuracy in Media, the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that produced the videos used in the Fox News report, took her words out of context.

She explained that she was not discussing critical race theory, but rather, talking about “social and emotional learning.” Social and emotional learning is part of Indiana’s state public education standards.

Critical race theory is a highly controversial front in the culture wars that, at its core, alleges systemic racism in America. Oakley said that at the time she didn’t even know much about critical race theory, which is generally not taught below the college level but has become a catch-all term for some conservatives who generally object to public schools teaching about racial equity or social justice movements.

Warren’s email prompted Oakley and her husband, Justin, to file a police report. Many more emails and social media posts, phone calls and unusual activity outside their home prompted the Oakleys to buy a Doberman they named Zeus to help protect their family. Justin Oakley said he got out his guns for the first time in years.

Through public records requests, Raw Story revealed that at least two other public school administrators in the Fox News report received the same email from Warren. They are not part of the lawsuit.

Oakley said two women showed up unannounced at the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville administration building, presenting themselves as a politically liberal couple that just moved to the area and were exploring schools for their first grader. In reality, they were undercover members of Accuracy in Media, which promotes using tax money for private schools.

Neither Fox News nor Accuracy in Media provided answers to questions from Raw Story for its original story.

A man wished torture and death on a school administrator, says words aren't 'extreme'

A Georgia man’s assertion — first featured in a Raw Story investigation — that people should punch, kick, urinate on and throw feces at an Indiana public school administrator is not “extreme and outrageous” but merely “ill-mannered and rude,” according to the man’s response to a federal emotional distress lawsuit against him.

The email from Samuel P. Warren of Canton, Ga., to Jenny Oakley of Martinsville, Ind. — sparked by a Fox News report earlier this year — also included a passage where Warren wondered why Oakley hadn’t found a “tall tree with a short piece of rope.” Warren expressed hope that someone would push Oakley out of an airplane at 30,000 feet.

The legal response denied the email was “extreme and outrageous conduct,” a part of how Indiana law defines intentional infliction of emotional distress, which Oakley and her husband Justin allege in the lawsuit.

Warren’s email was sent soon after the Jesse Watters Primetime show on April 12, where a segment of the Fox News program used heavily edited hidden-camera video, obtained under false pretense, to accuse public school administrators of, as Watters put it, “stealthily teaching students principles associated with Critical Race Theory.”

Critical race theory is a highly controversial front in the culture wars that, at its core, alleges systemic racism in America. Oakley, a mid-level administrator, said that at the time, she didn’t even know much about critical race theory, which is generally not taught below the college level but has become a catch-all term for some conservatives who generally object to public schools teaching about racial equity or social justice movements.

Oakley said that in the clip of her shown by Fox News, she was talking about “social and emotional learning,” often mistakenly conflated with critical race theory. Social and emotional learning is part of Indiana’s state public education standards.

Through public records requests, Raw Story revealed that at least two other public school administrators in the Fox News report received the same email from Warren. They are not part of the lawsuit.

Accuracy in Media, a Washington, D.C., non-profit that promotes using tax money for private schools, produced the videos used in the Fox News report. Oakley said two women showed up unannounced at Metropolitan School District of Martinsville administration building, presenting themselves as a politically liberal couple that just moved to the area and were exploring schools for their first grader.

Neither Fox News nor Accuracy in Media provided answers to questions from Raw Story for its original story.

Warren’s email arrived 11 minutes after the Jesse Watters Primetime show ended on Fox News.

Among the statements Warren made in his email to Oakley:

“How is it that you still have a job and not found your way to a tall tree with a short piece of rope??”

“Everyone you ever encounter after that should spit in your face, fling their feces at you (with impeccable aim), punch you,knock you down, kick you, piss on you and hold you there for similar treatment by everyone waiting in line for their turn — you despicable sad excuse for a sub-human being.”

“With any luck, someone else on the airplane will recognize you and jettison you from the aircraft at 30,000 feet over the ocean at least 200 miles from any land.”

“There is a special place in hell for which you richly deserve to be consigned to for eternity — there is no hope of redemption.”

The response to the lawsuit said Warren’s behavior was not outside of legal boundaries.

“While likely ill-mannered and rude, Mr. Warren’s comments do not give rise to the extreme and outrageous standard required by (the law),” the response says.

Warren’s response also argues that his speech is protected by the First Amendment because Oakley, the school district’s director of e-learning and literacy, is a “public official.”

The Oakleys are asking for a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys fees.

Indiana couple featured in Raw Story investigation alleges Fox News viewer made violent threats: lawsuit

Indiana public school administrator Jenny Oakley and her husband, Justin — featured recently in an exclusive Raw Story investigation — filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, alleging a Georgia man sent Jenny a violent and threatening email soon after a report on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime.

The report used hidden-camera video from Accuracy in Media, a Washington, D.C., non-profit, obtained under apparently false pretense. The lawsuit says the “highly edited” video purports to “prove” Oakley and administrators from six other Indiana public school districts were deceiving parents about race-related curriculum.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Indiana, lists Samuel P. Warren as the defendant. That was the name signed on the email, which also carried an address in Canton, Ga., and cell and fax numbers. The lawsuit seeks "compensatory and punitive damages," listing no specific dollar figure.

Raw Story left a voicemail Tuesday afternoon at the cell number. Fox News, which has previously not responded to requests for comment, did not immediately respond to a follow-up request Tuesday.

Oakley, a mid-level administrator at the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, said she was treated unfairly and portrayed out of context in the video. She does not know Warren, the lawsuit says, and still hasn’t seen the unedited video from Accuracy in Media.

The email addressed from Warren started, “Jenny- How is it that you still have a job and not found your way to a tall tree with a short piece of rope??”

Three paragraphs down, it said, “Everyone you ever encounter after that should spit in your face, fling their feces at you (with impeccable aim), punch you,knock you down, kick you, piss on you and hold you there for similar treatment by everyone waiting in line for their turn --- you despicable sad excuse for a sub-human being.”

Raw Story’s reporting revealed that two other Indiana public school administrators who were in the video, from Elkhart and Plainfield, received the same email.

The lawsuit alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress and, as a result, Justin’s loss of the “love, affection, care, services, companionship, society, and consortium of his wife.” They are asking for a jury trial.

The Raw Story article detailed the impact on the Oakleys, who said they felt their safety was at risk from viewer reaction to the Fox News segment. They reported the email to police and bought a Doberman. Justin Oakley got out his guns for the first time in 10 years.

Jon Little, the Oakleys’ lawyer, said the couple is standing up for a principle.

“Do you want to live in a civil society?” Little told Raw Story. “Do you want to live in a society that values learning and knowledge and kind, human discourse and kind, human actions where you love thy neighbor? Or do you want to live in a society where people can hide behind their computer and fire off vitriolic, hate-filled emails?”