May 21, 2024 11:30 AM UTC

Let's Talk About Furries in Schools (Again)!

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• by: Colorado Pols

The outcome of the 2022 race for Governor in Colorado did not hinge on Republican Heidi Ganahl’s bizarre obsession with the ridiculous idea that public schools in Colorado were infested with children dressed up as animals (which she referred to as “furries“).

But it certainly didn’t help her cause — and the catshit craziness continues to infect right-wing politics in Colorado two years later.

Ganahl’s campaign, which we have dubbed the worst major campaign in Colorado history, was an unmitigated disaster from beginning to end that culminated in a nearly 20-point loss to incumbent Gov. Jared Polis. The final six weeks of that campaign were dominated mostly by Ganahl’s bizarre insistence on bringing up the widely-debunked conspiracy theory that public schools were catering to children who wore elaborate cat costumes in class. This is the same nonsense conspiracy theory that other Republican politicians have used to claim that schools were providing “litter boxes” for students; a Nebraska State Senator publicly apologized for the suggestion in March 2022.

[For more on Ganahl’s furry obsession, click Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here]

Long after the 2022 gubernatorial race had ended, Ganahl was still talking about furries as she pushed to start up a “Moms for Liberty” chapter in Colorado — an idea that brought “Furry-Lago” full circle. Ganahl launched herself down this insane rabbit hole in 2022 at least in part at the suggestion of a Jefferson County woman named Lindsey Datko, who runs a Facebook page for like-minded idiots called “Jeffco Kids First.” Datko’s involvement was detailed in a story by Rylee Dunn of Colorado Community Media (publisher of the Arvada Press) that explained how “Jeffco Kids First” tried very hard to prove the existence of the invisible furry menace:

Over the summer, the members of a Facebook group called Jeffco Kids First began shifting their concern away from pandemic policies in schools to identities it deemed disruptive to learning. A leading voice in the group told parents to empower their children to find “furries,” kids who dress up in animal accessories, and to record them.

“If any of your kids would be willing to record anonymous audio of their experiences with furries hissing, barking, clawing, chasing, and how it affects their school day, please send to me or let me know ASAP!” Jeffco Kids First creator Lindsay Datko, a parent in Jefferson County Public Schools, posted.

Details like these have not been widely publicized because the Facebook group is private, meaning only members can see what is posted. After being denied entry to the group, Colorado Community Media gained access through a member who wanted the group’s content to be public.

School officials say the group’s activities can be disruptive and harmful to kids. But it has some strong backers, including Heidi Ganahl, the Republican Party’s nominee in this fall’s Colorado gubernatorial race. She’s also a member of the group.

“Boy, Jeffco Kids First has been such an impactful and amazing community, and I’ve gotten to know a lot of you over the past couple of years,” Ganahl said in a post in Jeffco Kids First. “You are warriors fighting for our kids every day in the classroom and in school. I want to be a voice for all of you.” [Pols emphasis]

After the November 2022 election, Datko insisted (again, without evidence) that Colorado Community Media (CCM) was about to issue a “formal article retraction and apology” for Dunn’s Oct. 6, 2022 story about the involvement of “Jeffco Kids First” in the furry nonsense. An “Editor’s Note” was later added to the story that reflected CCM’s response:

Editor’s note: Lindsay Datko contacted Colorado Community Media after online publication of this story to seek a retraction, stating that she sought “anonymous verbal statements from children.” Datko disagreed with the article’s sentence, “Datko urged the nearly 6,000 members of Jeffco Kids First to have their kids secretly record their classmates.” Screenshots from the group show she made that request. Datko confirmed to Colorado Community Media that she received pictures of students but indicated to the group that she has not used them. 

This seemed to be the end of Datko’s furry saga…until recently.

As Erik Maulbetsch reports for the Colorado Times Recorder, Datko is still purring mad about this whole incident and has retained former Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler to represent her in a libel suit:

On May 4 Datko posted an update on her lawsuit to the (Jeffco Kids First Facebook) group:

“In October 2022 an article was written on Jeffco Kids First and me that turned my world upside down and threatened my lifelong work to protect the innocence and well-being of children as a mom, teacher, Jeffco Kids First founder, and community member,” wrote Datko. “It was published in about 23 Colorado Community Media publications across the state- front page of the Arvada Press where I was born and raised. You have stayed with me all this time and offered your support, prayers and financial backing. I don’t have enough words to express my gratitude. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss. However, the judge agreed with us on our central claim of libel per se (the statement made about secretly recording children in schools). Regarding the defendant’s motion to dismiss, we did not get all we wanted but we got what we needed. We have a good pathway forward and we will hold Colorado Community Media and Arvada Press reporter Rylee Dunn to account. I will continue to update you under the direction of my incredible legal team working to make Jeffco Kids First and me whole again (former Secretary of State Scott Gessler who was head legal counsel for the recent 9-0 Supreme Court Colorado ballot issue).”

Reached for comment, Colorado Community Media publisher Linda Shapley offered this statement from CCM’s lawyer, prominent First Amendment specialist Steven Zansberg:

“The judge has allowed only three of the four pleaded claims to go forward based only on his review of the pleaded allegations, taken as true. Plaintiffs must now file an amended complaint, and the judge will then take up our anti-SLAPP motion, which should bring this case to a close.”

Attorney Steve Zansberg is widely considered to be the top First Amendment expert in Colorado. Gessler is…not, although he has himself tried to use Colorado’s “anti-SLAAP law” (which is intended to protect media outlets from frivolous lawsuits) to unsuccessfully defend Rudy Giuliani in a defamation lawsuit related to Dominion Voting Systems and the 2020 Presidential election. Libel suits, particularly against media outlets, are notoriously difficult to win; given that Datko is complaining about reporting that uses her group’s own writings on Facebook, it’s hard to understand what Gessler could possibly dispute.

Jeffco Kids First is now promoting an August fundraising event — with Riley Gaines, the former competitive swimmer turned anti-trans activist — that the group says will help “fund ongoing legal action and advice.” That’s a lot of effort to pay for advice related to a libel lawsuit that Datko and friends almost certainly cannot win. The Aug. 22 event also presents another news peg for further discussion of how right-wing Republicans are still talking about furries in schools, which is absolutely NOT what the GOP wants to be talking about as campaigns across the state heat up for their final November push.