Group led by State Sen. Adam Morfeld launches effort to fight political “extremism and misinformation”

A Nebraska coalition of lawyers, educators and advocates on Monday launched an effort to battle what it views as “extremism and misinformation” against educators, public officials and members of the LGBTQ community.

Led in part by State Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln, the group of about 10 announced the creation of the Nebraska Legal Action Fund, which aims to use “all the legal tools at our disposal to protect Nebraskans and expose extremists, their tactics and misinformation.”

“These tactics are dangerous to our democracy, influence the outcomes of elections, and create a toxic political environment,” Morfeld said.

 He added that the time without financial and legal consequences “has come to an end.”

One board member of the new legal action fund, Danielle Helzer, recently lost a bid for the officially nonpartisan State Board of Education. She was defeated by a Republican candidate endorsed by Protect Nebraska Children, a conservative political action committee created to halt, for example, what became a controversial comprehensive sex education proposal.

“Throughout my campaign, teachers, administrators and board members shared stories of being defamed and harassed for simply doing their job to ensure schools were welcoming for every student,” said Helzer, a former public school teacher.

“These tactics are pushing good folks out of schools during a national staffing crisis and are preventing everyday people from running for elected office.”

Morfeld, a Democrat who narrowly lost a bid for Lancaster County Attorney earlier this month, is chairman and founder of the new legal action fund. He said educators and candidates reached out to him with their own stories of misinformation and defamation.

He said that Nebraskans of all political backgrounds are welcome to join the efforts and to donate.

The action fund named three focus areas:

– On legal advocacy, it is to provide a network of attorneys that can file legal claims, with financial assistance from the fund.

– On education, it is to publish relevant information on its “Extremist Watch” page and newsletter.

 – On investigations, it is to research the operation and  funding sources of who the group views as extremists.