Moms for Liberty tries to abandon 'extremist' image with RNC rebrand

MILWAUKEE — Gone was Moms for Liberty’s bashing of critical race theory.

Banning books? Barely a mention.

Also unspoken: the unceremonious departure of co-founder Bridget Ziegler, whose alleged sexual escapades undercut the moralistic message of the three-year-old organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center dubbed an“extremist group."

Moms for Liberty used a forum Tuesday to reintroduce itself to conservatives gathered for the Republican National Convention after months of bad press and launch a rebranding of sorts.

But it wasn’t a softer-side-of-Moms-for-Liberty pivot.

“Mom’s for Liberty has been the target of a lot of weaponization. We’ve been doxxed. We’ve received multiple death threats,” said co-founder Tiffany Justice, vowing like many of the featured speakers to “fight” for a suite of causes that bolster “parental rights” in education.

To underscore that Moms for Liberty is neither cowering nor fading away, the group touted sponsorships from several prominent conservative entities, including the Heritage Foundation — the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization behind the Project 2025 presidential transition plan.

Read also: Moms for Liberty leader turns out to be a convicted sex offender

Moms for Liberty also buttressed itself Tuesday with high-wattage politicos including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also showed up at Milwaukee’s Bradley Symphony Center to declare war on “indoctrination poison” and preach to the crowd of about 1,000 the ideals of merit over any other considerations.

Together, the conservative luminaries largely sang from a single songbook filled with decidedly Donald Trump-aligned policy issues: teacher unions stink, the Department of Education should be disbanded, parental rights in education should supersede those of the government and transgender students born as males should never play female sports.

Moms for Liberty event speakers — more were men than women — also indicated that legal challenges to “woke” educational policies will be an increasingly significant part of a broad strategy to battle against liberal educational policies.

DeSantis used the opportunity to tout changes to education in Florida, where Moms for Liberty is based, and rail against cell phones and social media in the classroom.

“I think it’s terrible for kids to be buried in these phones all day,” DeSantis said. “Social media is a net negative.”

Detractors of Moms for Liberty have accused certain group members of harboring ties to far-right extremist organizations, engaging in aggressive confrontations with school administrators and school board members and coddling racists.

Moms for Liberty says it is nonpartisan. Justice said Tuesday that she asked Democratic politicos to join her for panel discussions but “I’ve had no luck.”

Regardless, Moms for Liberty made clear its affinity for Trump, whose Republican Party platform parallels the group’s agenda.

“Moms for Liberty is no hate group. You are joyful warriors,” Trump said in a video played at Tuesday’s event. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to America.

Justice struck her own emboldened tone.

“Every parent has the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children,” she said.

“We fight at Moms for Liberty. We are fighting for our country and the future of our children. They’re coming after our kids … Radical Marxists are trying to steal our children’s future. We’re fighting with a smile on our face.”