The American Federation of Teachers union was denied a temporary restraining order against Project Veritas on Tuesday after the union attempted to prevent the operation from releasing an undercover video targeting its Michigan chapter.
District Court Judge Linda Carter, who lifted a restraining order filed by AFT against the conservative James O’Keefe group in December, denied AFT’s new emergency restraining order request, writing in her decision that AFT “cannot show that its commercial interests are more fundamental” than the First Amendment rights of Project Veritas.
Union president Randi Weingarten stated she was disappointed and the union would continue to fight “unethical and unlawful smear campaigns against educators,” according to the Washington Post. O’Keefe called the ruling “a victory for both journalism and for the First Amendment.”
Project Veritas released the video in question on Wednesday, showing what it called a “troublesome” saga of AFT Michigan and the Lake City Michigan school district’s handling of a teacher accused of molesting a female student. The teacher, who was never charged with a crime and is not identified, ultimately received a $50,000 buyout from the school district after union negotiations. – READ MORE
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