(Thomas More Society) — On behalf of a New Jersey mother, Angela Reading, who expressed disagreement with “polysexuality” posters in a local school, created by children under the influence of teachers, Thomas More Society attorneys have added as defendants in their ongoing suit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP). The Second Amended Complaint, filed March 12, 2025, cites the agencies’ roles in an alleged conspiracy to censor and retaliate against Mrs. Reading for her protected speech.
The addition of DHS, TSA, and NJOHSP to the lawsuit stems from evidence that these agencies participated in “threat-tagging” and monitoring Mrs. Reading after she posted a Facebook comment in November 2022 criticizing sexualized content noticed by her seven-year-old daughter at a local elementary school. As a result, Mrs. Reading was stripped of her “Trusted Traveler” status at airports under the CLEAR program, as if she represented a security threat. Now in its third year, the Thomas More Society case continues to advance, seeking injunctive relief, damages, and a declaratory judgment to protect Mrs. Reading’s rights and set a precedent against government censorship. The Amended Complaint builds on prior proceedings, including an oral argument before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2024.
The case began when Mrs. Reading, mother of two and 2023 Villanova Law School graduate, voiced concerns about posters featuring terms like “polysexual” and “pansexual” displayed at a local elementary school during a “Math Night” event she attended with her two young daughters. The posters had been created by minor-aged children at the direction of their teachers. Mrs. Reading’s Facebook post expressing her parental concerns over such activity, made as a private citizen, provoked an over-the-top coordinated response from local military base officials at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, some of whose children attend the local schools.
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The Joint Base “security forces” coordinated with North Hanover Township Police Chief Robert Duff and School Superintendent Helen Payne to coerce the post’s removal under Duff’s threat to the Facebook page administrator of liability for a “school shooting.” This coerced censorship was accompanied by a retaliatory campaign against Mrs. Reading, including her referral to various law enforcement and security agencies and the depiction of her First Amendment-protected speech as a threat to the community. The campaign of retaliation forced her to resign her position on the Northern Burlington County Regional School District Board of Education. Following the defendants’ retaliatory campaign, offers of employment were rescinded.
Christopher Ferrara, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel, stated: “This case, which began during the Biden administration, represents exactly the kind of ‘weaponization of government’ the Trump administration has vowed to correct. Angela Reading is a caring mother and an upstanding citizen, who was branded a ‘security threat’ for voicing commonsense beliefs about the educational environment of minor-aged children. We hope that with the change of administration, this case can be brought to an amicable resolution. I can’t imagine the Trump administration wants to continue to defend this egregious example of government weaponization against concerned parents who oppose the woke agenda being imposed upon school children.”
Read the Second Amended Verified Complaint for Civil Rights Violations and Injunctive and Declaratory Relief, filed March 12, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of Angela Reading, in Reading v. Duff, et al., here, with Exhibits, here.
About Thomas More Society
Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and freedom. Headquartered in Chicago and with offices across the country, Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, please visit thomasmoresociety.org.
Reprinted with permission from the Thomas More Society.