Right-Wing ‘Moms for Liberty’ Organizer Is a Convicted Sex Offender

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Moms for Liberty is a conservative parental rights group that has chapters all over the United States working to eradicate LGBTQ-related discussion in public schools, at least partially under the belief that educators are using it to “groom” children for sexual relationships. The group might want to look inward first. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday that Phillip Fisher Jr. — a pastor, Republican ward leader, and faith coordinator for Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia — is a registered sex offender.

Fisher was convicted in 2012 for aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy, with the charging documents saying that Fisher, then 25, engaged and oral and anal sex with the boy. Fisher, who pleaded guilty, told the Inquirer that the conviction was a “railroad job” by a PAC affiliated with Lyndon LaRouche, the cult-y former presidential candidate whose organization Fisher worked for at the time. “It was a political situation that happened between me and Lyndon LaRouche,” Fisher said. “It was a member of his camp, his party, that made the accusation. They pushed it through.”

Fisher was the leader of Philadelphia’s 42nd Ward until he resigned on Friday after Vince Fenerty, chair of Philadelphia’s Republican City Committee, demanded he do so after being informed of his criminal history. The Inquirer notes that Fisher supported Trump in 2020 and campaigned with Mehmet Oz in 2022. While protesting outside of Chicago town hall meeting in 2009, Fisher held up a poster of then-President Barack Obama with a Hitler mustache.

Fisher did faith-based outreach for Philadelphia’s Moms for Liberty chapter. The organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone on Monday.

Moms for Liberty has exploded in growth since its founding in 2021, organizing to oppose LGBTQ discussion, critical race theory, and Covid-19 mandates in schools. The Associated Press noted last week that the group reported $2.1 million in revenue in 2022, up from $370,000 in 2021.

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