Baltimore teacher clears key hurdle in defamation lawsuit against Libs of TikTok founder

A Baltimore teacher has cleared a key hurdle in her defamation lawsuit against those including the founder of the conservative social media account Libs of TikTok.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Marc DeSimone Jr. on Wednesday denied Chaya Raichik’s motion to dismiss the case after ruling she received adequate notice of the lawsuit and decided to inject herself into a dispute in Maryland.

Alexa Sciuto, a Spanish teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools, LGBTQIA+ advocate and stand-up comic, filed her lawsuit in 2025 against Raichik, five Republican delegates and the chairs of the Carroll County and Talbot County chapters of Moms for Liberty.

The legal dispute stems from when Sciuto attended a parents’ rights event in 2024 and asked, “What does woke mean?” She posted a video of the exchange on TikTok.

In response, Kit Hart, chair of the Carroll County chapter of Moms for Liberty, wrote on X, “Hey, haters! Thanks for all of the comments! You’re really boosting my exposure so I appreciate you!” Sciuto quote-tweeted her and added, “Officer I swear I didn’t mean to murder her.” She later stated her remarks were rhetorical.

Dels. Kathy Szeliga, Ryan Nawrocki, Robin Grammer Jr. and Lauren Arikan wrote a letter to Sciuto’s employer, Baltimore County Public Schools, calling for her termination. By that time, Sciuto had accepted a new job and submitted her resignation.

In one post on X on June 7, 2024, Raichik, who lives in Florida, wrote, “Hi superintendent @DrMRogersBCPS of @BaltCoPS! Just making sure you’re aware that a teacher in @StemmersRunMS in your district is posting messages about m*rder*ng moms because she disagrees with them. Is this typical behavior of your staff?”

Raichik, the judge noted, tagged social media accounts in Maryland and spread her message widely.

“This is not one letter, one phone call,” DeSimone said. “This is a party line.”

In a separate decision, DeSimone refused to dismiss counts of defamation and false light against Janet Greenhawk, whom the lawsuit described as chair of the Talbot County chapter of Moms for Liberty and editor-in-chief of the Easton Gazette.

Greenhawk published an article that claimed Sciuto was asked to resign and threatened Hart, according to the lawsuit.

But DeSimone granted Greenhawk’s motion to throw out counts of tortious interference and civil conspiracy and ruled that Sciuto could not seek punitive damages. The judge left the door open for the claims of tortious interference and civil conspiracy to be refiled.

The five lawmakers were previously dismissed from the lawsuit. Hart remains in the case and faces counts of defamation, false light and civil conspiracy related to four out of 10 statements cited in the lawsuit.

Sciuto was allowed to serve Raichik through publishing a legal notice in a local newspaper, mailing it to several addresses and, unusually, posting on TikTok and tagging @LibsOfTikTok.

Outside the courtroom, Sciuto’s attorney, Nick McDaniels, said they’re “very encouraged that this case is allowed to proceed.”

Sciuto said she’s not the only teacher to suffer harm from being targeted by Raichik’s social media account.

Raichik’s attorney, Jonathan Gross, declined to comment about the decision. Meanwhile, Marc Schifanelli, Greenhawk’s attorney, said he and his client are “very pleased with the judge’s ruling.”

“We look forward to going through the litigation process and having Ms. Greenhawk found not liable for those claims that remain,” Schifanelli said.

The case will proceed to the discovery phase. No next court date has been set.