Lawsuit Over Anti-Gay Slur Imperils Small Town Paper

The New York Times reports:

The county board meeting in Wausau, Wis., on Aug. 12, 2021, got contentious fast. Nobody disputes that. Acting on a tip from a reader, The Wausau Pilot & Review reported that during the meeting, the owner of a shredding and recycling company, Cory Tomczyk, called a 13-year-old boy a “fag.” Mr. Tomczyk, who is now a Republican state senator, denied using the slur and demanded a retraction. When The Pilot & Review stood by its article, Mr. Tomczyk sued.

Three additional people who attended the meeting later gave sworn statements that they had heard Mr. Tomczyk use the word. And during a deposition, he admitted having said it on other occasions. In late April 2023, a judge dismissed the lawsuit. But that was not the end of the matter for the small and financially pinched Pilot & Review, a nonprofit that has already racked up close to $150,000 in legal bills from the case. Mr. Tomczyk has filed an appeal.

Read the full article. Gift link.

As you’ve probably already guessed, the above-cited county meeting was about diversity and inclusion policies. Last month Tomczyk was also in the news for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban the closure of churches should there be another pandemic. Tomczky has called for impeaching Gov. Tony Evers over such restrictions issued due to COVID.