A Fort Bend ISD trustee, David Hamilton, is threatening legal action against a parent who resurfaced a 2010 lawsuit accusing him of interfering with a woman at an abortion clinic, leading to heated discussion on social media.
According to a report by the Houston Chronicle, Hamilton recently demanded that parent Kathy Houser delete social media posts about the 2010 suit, where U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder pushed a woman’s arm while offering sidewalk counseling outside a Louisville clinic. Attorneys argued the trustee violated Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE act, by attempting to use force to interfere with a woman receiving care. The lawsuit was settled for $2,500, significantly less than the $20,000 originally sought.
Hamilton also demanded Houser apologize and called her posts “false and defamatory.” The posts were made on her personal account and a group called “FBISD Concerns 2.0.”
“I am looking into criminal charges and/or civil action that can be taken against the people who have posted false and defamatory allegations on social media,” he said.
The Chronicle reported that the posts sparked a war in the comments section, with some accusing Hamilton of assaulting women and others saying the claims were unfounded.
According to U.S. District Judge Hon, Jennifer B. Coffman Hufman was outside a clinic on Jan. 30, 2010 protesting and that he “approached a woman he perceived to be a patient walking toward (the clinic). (A few women) interposed themselves between Hamilton and the patient, and in his attempt to continue talking to the patient, Hamilton pushed (Jane Fitts’s) arm down slightly.’” She also stated that Hamilton “employed force” but that it was unclear “whether such force was used intentionally to injure, intimidate, or interfere” with the woman.
Fort Bend ISD trustee Sonya Jones attacked women criticizing Hamilton’s actions saying they wanted to be his “side chicks.”
“Some of you are mad because deep down … you want to be his side chick and have abortions,” she wrote. She also wrote that if Hamilton were “to become single, we would have a room full of single women attending our meetings. Some who do not have kids in the district would be at our meetings just to meet David Hamilton.”
Fort Bend ISD has a rule banning members from making personal attacks “in the community or on social media against other board members, the superintendent, staff or community members.”
Hamilton sent a statement to the Chronicle saying “some Democrats are coming after me with a fake ‘assault’ scandal.” In a social media post he called the Chronicle “radical” and said he also expressed “nice things about the new chairman of the Fort Bend Democratic Party.”
