A man in Texas has received notice that he is being sued by a disgraced teacher for “defamation” after commenting on a Facebook post about the teacher’s termination. Amber Parker was fired from Franklin High School in El Paso after being caught on video instructing students to “not judge people just because they want to have sex” with small children.
Libero Kinnear of Lindale said he received a letter last week revealing that a law firm had been hired to prepare a defamation suit against him on behalf of Parker and her husband. The letter, issued by the Bruster Firm, also requested he provide a retraction of statements he made about Parker on Facebook.
The comments date back to June 30 when Kinnear, a Texas rancher, responded to a Facebook post made by The Publica journalist Sarah Fields. Fields had been recapping a 2022 incident in which Parker was found to have made disturbing comments to her young students about pedophiles.
In an incident that would result in her ultimate termination from Franklin High School, Parker had instructed students to refer to pedophiles as “minor attracted people,” and stated: “Do not judge someone just because they want to have sex with a five year old.”
The statements, which had been caught on film by a student, went viral after being leaked to social media, and Parker was fired after the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to initiate termination procedures against her.
While the Vice President of the Board of Trustees claimed that Parker had been taken out of context and that she was being “sarcastic,” the school did not provide a comment regarding on many of the questions posed by concerned parents in the district.
Fields’ Facebook post recapping the incident also included details regarding a separate investigation into the Henderson Independent School District.
“Parents have a right to know exactly what is occurring within the buildings where their children go to learn,” Fields had written. “School staff and admin are paid by the people, and therefore are beholden to the people. When they seek to hide information from parents, this in itself is an admission of wrongdoing.”
In her post, Fields shared the video with additional details into an ongoing investigation she had launched into how the incident had been handled by the school district, and why Parker, despite being terminated, was still certified to teach in the state of Texas.
Fields, an independent child safeguarding advocate, noted that she had sent two open record requests asking for both staff communications on Parker, as well as a formal explanation of her certification status. But Fields was never provided any records, with the El Paso Independent School District first putting up obstacles to completing the request, then calling in the Attorney General to shut the request down. This is despite the fact that the District confirmed that a thumb drive containing the full investigation into Parker existed.
Fields stated: “If the teacher was taken out of context, why not release the findings? Why is this being hidden? Hiding this information from concerned parents indicates guilt. Unfortunately, schools continue to hide information from parents and this is just one more example.”
In response to Fields’ post, Kinnear commented: “That lady doesn’t need to be anywhere near a classroom… in fact, if it were up to me, I’d stick all those with that train of thought on a sexual offenders list and make the lot of them notify their neighbors that they think that [bullsh*t] is ok…”
On August 12, Kinnear informed Fields that he had received the certified letter from Bruster Law via registered mail informing him that a lawsuit was being prepared against him for his comments on Parker.
“I didn’t say anything in the comment that I would not stand on” Kinnear told The Publica. “I didn’t name any names. I said ‘if it were up to me.’ I’m not going to break my morals or beliefs.”
According to the letter, Parker and her husband plan on filing lawsuits against “numerous individuals,” many of whom appear to have commented beneath Fields’ post on the investigation. Fields herself has yet to receive any communications from the firm, but anticipates it.
“It is sad that my followers are being targeted for exercising their free speech regarding my investigations,” Fields said.
“I am sure they will sue me as well. I do not know if Amber Parker is a pedophile sympathizer or not, neither does the public, and that is the issue I am trying to provide clarity on. Parents deserve to know who is teaching their children.”
Fields continued: “This is not about Amber, this is about the lack of transparency in public schools. The parents should not feel like they have to battle the schools for the protection of their own kids.”
