Delegate Danielle Walker, West Virginia’s only Black female lawmaker, filed a lawsuit against an anti-abortion group. Her evidence is a racist Facebook post and a racist email she claims she received because she supports legislation that would eliminate the restrictions on abortion in the state, per the Associated Press.
A Monongaki County Democrat that is co-sponsoring legislation to get rid of abortion restrictions in West Virginia, she has spoken publicly about having an abortion in the past.
Walker filed the lawsuit in Kanawha County Circuit Court against West Virginians for Life and Richard Demoske. He resigned as president of the group’s Berkeley County chapter after he posted pictures of a KKK member on the group’s Facebook page, which was targeted towards Walker.
From the Associated Press:
Walker said she remains in fear for her life and wears protective safety gear. The lawsuit alleges that the email and Facebook post were “authored and posted” by West Virginians for Life and “constitute the modern-day digital equivalent of burning a cross in Delegate Walker’s front yard.”
“These digital communications were and are designed by West Virginians for Life to harass, intimidate, and strike me with fear of violence if I continue my support of a woman’s right to choose,” Walker said in a statement.
West Virginians for Life and Demoske have not responded to the lawsuit filed against them by Walker, according to the Associated Press.
In the lawsuit, Walker is pursuing unspecified damages and a restraining order to defend herself from further contact with West Virginians for Life and Demoske.
Per the Associated Press, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill that this week that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It’s now in the senate which is led by Republicans. Last year, several laws were proposed in Texas, Florida and South Carolina that would ban women from getting an abortion.