The Brewer School Department reached a settlement with the estate of a local conservative activist on Sunday, a day before the case was set to go before a jury.
The case concerned an online post Shawn McBreairty published in February 2024 about girls’ bathrooms not being safe if males are present. It had a picture of students in a Brewer High School bathroom, including a transgender student.
After it was published, the Brewer School Department requested McBreairty remove three parts of the article, including the picture. McBreairty removed the article, then sued the school department in the U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor, alleging the school violated his First Amendment rights by alluding to taking legal action.
McBreairty died by suicide June 3, 2024.
A settlement was reached Sunday, according to court records. A four-day jury trial was scheduled to start Monday.
Resolving the lawsuit is in the best interest of both sides, Brewer schools attorney Jonathan Brogan said. The settlement is not yet final as documents have not been signed, he said.
Once a settlement is signed, the lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled, and without costs, meaning neither side will have to pay the other’s legal fees. A settlement must be filed within 30 days, according to court records.
McBreairty’s widow, Patricia McBreairty, is continuing the lawsuit as the representative of his estate. Attorney Marc Randazza declined to provide comment to the Bangor Daily News.
The school has said it will not fight the republishing of the article, in part, because the targeted student has graduated.
McBreairty’s lawyer had asked the judge to allow a witness to testify that the lawsuit contributed to the activist’s death. The judge ruled against allowing that testimony.
