Republican Maine lawmaker sues House speaker over censure for post on transgender athlete

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SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in Maine has sued the state's Democratic House speaker over her censure that followed a social media post about a transgender athlete participating in high school sports.

Rep. Laurel Libby's posted about a high school athlete who won a girls' track competition. The post included a photo of the student and identified them by first name, with the name in quotation marks, saying that they previously competed in boys' track.

The post went viral and touched off a spat between President Donald Trump and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. It also led to the Democrat-controlled Maine House of Representatives censuring Libby in February and Democratic House Speaker Ryan Fecteau accusing her of violating the state's legislative code of ethics.

Libby filed a federal lawsuit against Fecteau and House clerk Robert Hunt on Tuesday with a claim the censure violated her right to free speech. The lawsuit also states that the censure stripped her right to speak and vote on the House floor, and that disenfranchises the thousands of residents in her district.

“I have the constitutional right to speak out and my constituents have the right to full representation in the Maine House. Biological males have no place in girls’ sports. Our girls have every right, under federal law, to fair competition in sports,” Libby said in a statement.

The lawsuit seeks a judgment that the censure is unlawful. It also seeks the restoration of Libby's voting and speaking rights on the House floor.

Spokespeople for Fecteau and Hunt declined to comment on the lawsuit and deferred to the office of the state attorney general. The attorney general's office declined to comment on pending litigation.

At the time of the censure, Fecteau said Libby violated the code of ethics by sharing an image of a minor online.

“Sharing images of kids online without their consent is a clear violation of the bond of trust and respect between citizens and their Legislators. There is a time and place for policy debates. That time and place will never be a social media post attacking a Maine student," Fecteau said in February.

Libby's post preceded a public argument between Trump and Mills at a meeting of governors at the White House in February.

Soon after taking office, Trump signed an executive order designed to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump characterized Maine as out of line with the order and told Mills “you’re not getting any federal funding” during the meeting with governors.

Mills responded by saying: “We'll see you in court.” The Trump administration followed by launching an investigation that found Maine in violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in school programs.