NEW: Federal judge upholds censure of Maine Rep Laurel Libby after opposition to trans competitors in women's sports

A federal judge has ruled against censured Maine State Rep Laurel Libby, siding with State House Speaker Ryan Fecteau. Libby filed a federal lawsuit after she was censored in the House chamber over a social media post that depicted a high school trans-identified male winning the state championship, despite President Donald Trump’s order banning trans-identified males competing in women’s sports. 

District Judge Melissa R. DuBose wrote in her ruling, "After carefully considering the case law, the details presented by the parties about the House governing rules, and the process by which the House adopted the Resolution and imposed the censure on Representative Libby, the court concludes that the suspension of Representative Libby’s privilege to speak or vote on the House floor is not of such an extraordinary character that this exception to absolute legislative immunity for legislators will apply."

She explained that the Supreme Court has "long considered legislators (and often, but not always, their staff) absolutely immune from being sued for their legislative acts."

She wrote that the "process Speaker Fecteau followed when he imposed the sanction ultimately reflected the will of the majority of the House members," and that the "censure and its sanction on Representative Libby is, at bottom, an internal Maine House affair."

The defendants, Speaker Fecteau and House Clerk Robert Hunt, are "immune from the plaintiffs’ claims against them," DuBose wrote, stating the  "imposition of the sanction plainly identified and authorized by the House Rule is not of such extraordinary character as to obliterate the formidable shield the courts have provided to legislative acts."

Libby said in a statement, "While I’m disappointed by today’s decision, it doesn’t change the fact that Ryan Fecteau and Maine Democrats abused their power in order to silence dissent, disenfranchise nearly 9,000 of my constituents, and suppress the voices they disagree with. The legislature is not above the law, and certainly not above the Constitution, as the Attorney General so recklessly argued with his claim of legislative immunity. Legislative immunity is intended to protect free speech and debate, but here the Speaker and the House Clerk, at his direction, are using it to prevent debate and silence the voice and vote of my constituents. The courts must stand up to this abuse of power which contradicts the very rationale for representative democracy. We will appeal."

"My constituents deserve a voice, and they deserve leaders who won’t back down when it matters. This fight is far from over. I will continue to demand my constituents have full representation, speak up for women and girls’ rights, and fight back against the radical politicians in Augusta who are putting their ideology ahead of the people they’re supposed to serve."

The ruling has been appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

In early February, Trump signed an executive order barring trans-identified males from competing in women's sports. Schools found to be allowing such a practice risk losing their federal funding. Around two weeks later, a trans-identified high school student won the girls' pole vault at the Maine state indoor track and field championships, which Rep. Libby drew attention to by posting a photo of the podium shot that included the student.

Around one week after making the post, Rep. Libby was censured in the House chamber in a 75-70 vote. Speaker Fecteau took issue with the post including a photo of a minor. She sued Fecteau in March, with the lawsuit noting that the "championship was a public event, was streamed online, and the names, schools, and photographs of the winners were all posted publicly." 

The lawsuit continued, "The complaint that Rep. Libby’s speech somehow threatened child safety is irreconcilable with the fact that her speech addresses what occurred at a public competition with publicly available photos already on the internet. There is nothing illegal or threatening about Rep. Libby’s posts, and at no point has she enabled or encouraged any attacks on any individual student. Instead, she has focused on the state government’s unfair policy and the rights of girls to compete fairly and safely in high school athletics."