Kim Davis’s attorneys are charging the Associated Press with placing Davis and her legal team in danger.
In a blistering letter, signed by Liberty Counsel president Mathew Staver and delivered on Monday to Brian Barrett, AP’s Assistant General Counsel, the group charges an October 4 story is “defamatory and presents Liberty Counsel and me in a false light. The words and the way the article is written as a whole present a clear and unmistakable message to a reasonable person — Mat Staver and Liberty Counsel are liars and haters, and the organization is a ‘hate group.’ These assertions are very damaging and place lives in danger.”
Since taking over the defense of the Kentucky County Clerk who went to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gays, Liberty Counsel has come under increased scrutiny by left wing groups and now the mainstream media.
The AP article relies heavily on the claim by the Southern Poverty Law Center that the positions taken by Liberty Counsel on homosexuality amount to hatred no different from that of the KKK and the Nazi Party. The AP story was headlined “Law firm labeled as hate group leading Kim Davis’ crusade.”
Liberty Counsel and other Christian groups who have been attacked by SPLC insist the threats against them because of SPLC are real and point to the Family Research Council that was invaded by an SPLC supporter who carried a loaded gun with the intent to commit mass murder.
SPLC charges hate against Christian groups that believe Biblical teachings about homosexuality, who believe homosexuality is harmful, and who oppose same-sex marriage.
Staver’s letter charges that Galofaro knew of the dangers he and Davis were in but published the SPLC charges anyway. He says Galofaro “…knew that Kim Davis had received death threats. She knew that people threatened to kill her and her husband and burn down their house after raping her. She knew that people had threatened to kill her and her staff at the Clerk’s office. She knew that I had received death threats and that our staff hat Liberty Counsel received death threats.”
Liberty Counsel is not asking AP for a “minor edit here and there…” Staver writes, “At a minimum, AP should permanently remove the link and the cache.”
Staver said today that AP’s General Counsel has acknowledged the letter but not yet responded.
Follow Austin Ruse on Twitter @austinruse