North Idaho drag artist sues influential Boise Christian lobby group for defamation

After winning a judgment of more than $1 million earlier this year, a North Idaho drag artist on Monday sued the Idaho Family Policy Center for defamation related to a 2022 dance performance.

The artist accused the group of spreading false and harmful statements about him, which he said led to harassment and emotional distress.

In an emailed statement to the Idaho Statesman, Idaho Family Policy Center spokesperson Morgan MaGill called the lawsuit “leftist scare tactics” and said the group did not make false statements.

The Boise-based organization is a conservative Christian center and has broad influence in the Idaho Capitol, having helped draft controversial abortion legislation and laws banning gender-affirming care for minors.

The lawsuit revolves around an LGBTQ+ event in Coeur d’Alene in 2022 where Kootenai County resident Eric Posey performed in a drag show. The festival, called Pride in the Park, received significant negative publicity online, and posts later spread alleging that Posey had indecently exposed himself during his performance – an accusation he said was false.

More than two dozen members of the white nationalist group Frente Patriota were arrested at the same event on riot conspiracy charges. Five members of the group were sentenced to prison in 2023. The case against the group leader was dropped.

After Posey’s performance, a blogger named Summer Bushnell made posts online alleging that Posey had exposed her genitals during the performance. Some of her posts included an edited video showing Posey with her crotch area blurred.

Posey claims his genitals were never visible during his performance, and in May a jury unanimously awarded him more than $1 million in damages in a lawsuit against Bushnell.

“The evidence is indisputable,” Posey’s attorney, Wendy Olson, said in a statement emailed to the Statesman.

Posey’s lawsuit accuses the Idaho Family Policy Center of “capitalizing” on the attention surrounding the video. The group launched a petition, written by group president Blaine Conzatti, called “Protect Children from Drag Shows,” which included a similar photo of Posey with her crotch blurred.

The group also posted a podcast about the Pride festival, where Conzatti and others, including Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, discussed the incident. Conzatti said the festival exhibited “pure sexual immorality,” according to a transcript included in the legal complaint.

An Ada County resident, Josh Bales, participated in the podcast interview and was also named in the lawsuit.

“His genitals came out of his underwear at one point,” Bales said on the podcast, according to the complaint.

“Correct,” replied Toews. “That’s what it looks like to me. That’s what I saw.”

The defendants’ statements “are false,” the legal complaint said, noting that the unedited image of Posey “does not reveal his genitals” and that the way he dressed for the performance made it “physically impossible” for him to expose himself. .

Toews did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment from the Statesman. Bales could not immediately be reached for comment; MaGill told the Statesman that he served as a “contractor” for the group when the podcast was made and that the group declined to comment on his behalf.

Following an investigation into the matter, the City of Coeur d’Alene District Attorney stated that “the unedited video recordings do not depict any exposure of genitalia” and claims otherwise “cannot be supported by the evidence,” according to the legal complaint.

The defamation case accuses the Idaho Family Policy Center of spreading false information about Posey, which exposed him to “hatred, contempt and ridicule.” He “suffered consequences from his then employer,” he added.

The lawsuit seeks financial compensation, but does not specify an amount.

According to the complaint, the Idaho Family Policy Center and Posey have been in communication in recent months. After Posey sent the organization three cease and desist letters between January 2023 and August 2024, the two parties signed three toll agreements, which are legal documents that delay the statute of limitations while the disputants try to resolve their differences.

The last agreement expired on Oct. 21 and no resolution was reached, according to the complaint. The group’s petition and podcast remain online.

“The Idaho Family Policy Center supports our statements regarding the Coeur d’Alene drag show,” MaGill said in her emailed statement. “Everything we assert is factually true – and truth remains an absolute defense in defamation cases. We will not be intimidated by leftist scare tactics and are committed to taking this case to its rightful conclusion, where we expect full vindication.”