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Federal judge rules principal's defamation lawsuit threat against parent critic can constitute conduct unbecoming
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A Merit Systems Protection Board administrative judge upheld the removal of a DoDEA school principal, finding that her personal-email threat of a defamation lawsuit against a parent who posted a removal petition on Facebook could properly be treated as conduct unbecoming.
For anyone operating platforms that surface user complaints, this case shows that threatening legal action against critics who post on social media can itself become grounds for professional discipline. The decision turned on the power imbalance and context, not on whether the criticized posts were actually defamatory.
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Administrative Judge Scott Borrowman upheld the removal of the principal of Matthew C. Perry Primary School, a DoDEA school at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.
The principal sent a cease-and-desist email from her personal Gmail to a parent who had posted a 24-signature petition on the Facebook group "Mom's of MCAS Iwakuni" demanding her removal.
The judge found that threatening a critic with a defamation lawsuit could, in context, constitute conduct unbecoming, regardless of whether the criticized posts were actually defamatory.
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