After online attacks against her by an incoming school board member, a Mesa teacher is suing

When Tami Staas was first called a “groomer” and perverted on a popular far-right blog site, she decided it wasn’t worth giving the article any more attention than it already received. When another post leaked her name and home address, she still didn’t feel it was worth pushing back or giving the post more publicity. And when she received threatening packages in her mailbox, she again didn’t want to give recognition to the groups pushing the harassment. 

But when they threatened her job as a teacher—a role Staas has worked in for over a decade with elementary students—she decided it was enough. The difference, she told LOOKOUT, was that they came after her ability to make money.  

“I’m tired, for lack of a better word,” Staas said. “I need to not only set the record straight, but it’s caused a lot of mental anguish. It’s put me through a lot. And I need it to stop.”

Staas has been the focus of a campaign by owners and authors of far-right websites trying to—as they believe—expose “sexual indoctrination” of Arizona’s students. Indoctrination and grooming, they said, takes the form of first amendment protections such as reading books about queer people or expressing themselves publicly. 

The reason for Staas being the focus is because of her dual role as not only a teacher in the Mesa Unified School District, but also because she leads the Arizona Trans Youth Parent Organization, a local community group aimed at offering support and resources to parents of transgender children.