Moms for Liberty, the far-right organization whose members have dubiously portrayed themselves as protectors of America’s schoolchildren, is on the defense after an outreach coordinator who works with its Philadelphia chapter was revealed to be a convicted child molester.
The group of self-styled “mama bear” types has crusaded against classroom lessons about social inequality. As part of their efforts, members have fought against LGBTQ references in schools under baseless “groomer” claims.
On Monday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported:
Phillip Fisher Jr. is a pastor and Republican ward leader who coordinates faith-based outreach for Philadelphia’s Moms for Liberty chapter.
He’s also a registered sex offender, due to a 2012 felony conviction for aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy when Fisher was 25.
Fisher insists that he did nothing wrong, despite pleading guilty to one of 12 counts filed against him after an investigation by the Chicago Police Department, according to court records obtained by The Inquirer.
Fisher told the Inquirer that his conviction was “really a railroad job” by fellow political activists he previously associated with.
Moms for Liberty defended itself as well, saying that Fisher is merely a volunteer and had passed a background check. In a post on X, the group also shared photos that appear to show the results of two background checks by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services that indicated no instances of child abuse on Fisher’s record.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania DHS told the Inquirer that “not all criminal convictions involving minors are considered child abuse” under state law. The newspaper also noted that Fisher is listed in the state’s “Megan’s Law” database of registered sex offenders.
“I never went out of my way to hide anything,” Fisher told the Inquirer. “I’m in the database. It’s an easy search.”
Volunteer or not, Fisher appears to have had an active role in the…
Read the full article here