WENATCHEE — Johanna Carveth insists the group is an apolitical collection of “liberty-minded” moms and dads concerned about children.
“Parents have the right to question and know what’s being taught to their children,” Carveth said, as a description of the term “liberty-minded.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading civil rights nonprofit organization, says the Moms for Liberty organization and its individual local chapters, like the one Carveth runs, are an “anti-government movement,” according to it’s “Year in Hate and Extremism” report, released on June 6.
“They are at the forefront of a reactionary, outspoken minority — referred to as the anti-student inclusion movement, which targets funding for public education, advocates for the abolition of the Department of Education, and spreads hateful imagery and rhetoric targeting the LGBTQ+ community,” wrote Ricky Riley, a spokesperson for the SPLC, in an email.
Carveth sees it a bit differently.
“It’s strictly believing in the cause of parental rights,” Carveth said of the purpose of Moms for Liberty. “We believe that parental rights don’t end at the classroom door.”
Founded in early 2021 partly as a response to COVID-19 mandates, Moms for Liberty has seen its profile rise over the last two and a half years and has recently taken root in the region, with several other chapters scattered about the state.
“None of it is true as far as our purpose and what we believe,” said Carveth, chair of the Chelan and Douglas counties chapter that has five due-paying members and other associates who attend meetings. “Our goal is to empower the parents.”
The classification by the SPLC is not a legal definition or government designation, but according to Carveth, the label “exposes what the battle is all about.”
The national group heavily focuses on school curriculum and is “dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government,” according to the group’s mission statement.
According to the SPLC, schools “have been on the receiving end of ramped-up and coordinated hard-right attacks, frequently through the guise of ‘parents’ rights’ groups.”
“Moms for Liberty was included in the 2022 Year in Hate and Extremism report due to the group’s antigovernment principles, their trafficking in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government, and their actions to censor school discussions around race, discrimination, and gender identity,” Riley said.
Carveth insisted the organization “doesn’t hate members of any group,” though pushed back on symbols of Pride being displayed in public schools.
“It’s not just a rainbow to kids, it means something more to kids,” she said, adding it would lead parents to discuss relationships and sexuality with their children.
According to the Carveth, the display of Pride merchandise in media, stores and schools is “unnecessary for kids to have in front of them in a school setting.”
“I don’t believe that anything but the America flag should be in the classroom,” she said.
Estimates vary on the total membership of the group, though the national organization claims to have 300 local chapters in 45 states.
There are six chapters in Washington, two in Oregon and one in Montana. The Chelan and Douglas counties chapter was founded in October.
“So far, we’re a really small group,” she said.
Carveth’s four children have graduated from the Eastmont School District and she now has two grandchildren in public schools. She praised her interactions with her children’s teachers and the local school climate, though later said members “haven’t had to dig too deep, yet” into the local school systems.
“We’re fortunate to live in the area that we do,” she said.
A self-described nonpartisan group, Carveth recruited members at a January meeting of the Chelan Douglas Women Republicans, later commenting on a post announcing her visit that the group tends “to find like and Liberty-minded folk on the ‘red’ side of things.”
Carveth said the group was “absolutely not” involved in a May social media post that called on people to show up at the May 23 Wenatchee School Board meeting to voice concern over “explicit books” and to help “stop the indoctrination of children.” The post led to a packed boardroom, with dozens of attendees defending the materials.
According to Carveth, none of her chapter members spoke during the meeting, and she was “not aware” of chapter members attending the meeting.
“We don’t want any book banned, ever,” Carveth said. “But we do want some moderation of the books that end up in our school libraries.”
Across the country, members packed and in some instances disrupted local school board meetings in recent months as the group takes rise. In the Wenatchee Valley, meetings remain sparsely attended beyond school staff.
Carveth said she attends when possible, and would like to go more in the future.
“A lot of us are busy moms,” she said, “it’s hard to make them.”
Carveth said the group is “not that active in the community at this point.” The chapter has an online presence, though like most across the country, it’s selective of who can see the activity.
Most chapters have private Facebook pages where users must be approved to see posts. The local chapter has roughly 110 users on its page, each “heavily screened” before being allowed to access the page, Carveth said.
The group also hosts a monthly meeting that draw up to 10 attendees. The meetings have an open agenda, though the group also receives suggested topics from the national organization.
As summer turns to sall and a series of local school board seats appear on the ballot, the group will research to see if they want to offer non-financial support local candidates who align with their views.
In Wenatchee, all five seats on the board will be up for grabs.
“We want to be able to support any candidate who is liberty-minded,” she said.
