By Theresa Opeka
Caroline Diary

A reservation at a Raleigh restaurant for a group of women and men celebrating the end of the school year was canceled after the restaurant discovered that some of those in attendance were associated with the Wake County group Moms for Liberty.

Kari Donovan, member and spokesperson for the Wake County chapter of Moms for Liberty, told the Carolina Journal in a phone interview that local chapter president Julie Page made the reservation at Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing as a happy hour for moms she knew to celebrate the end of the school year.

She posted the invitation Tuesday on the group’s Facebook page without mentioning the location. Donovan said attendees should send in a request to find out where it will take place on Friday. The page sent the invitation directly to the members of the group.

A total of 30 people responded, including men, women who were not affiliated with Moms for Liberty, and the rest who were members. Unbeknownst to Page, one of these members went by an assumed name. The impostor is actually a woman from Durham named Catherine Johnson, who recently started a far-left progressive group and is raising money via social media for a “Summer of Rage for the Triangle area of ​​North Carolina”.

In a Tik-Tok video, Johnson took credit for complaining to the restaurant about the participants’ association with Moms for Liberty. In another video, Johnson speaks directly to Page.

“Stay alert big girl cause we’re coming for you,” Johnson said in the video. Donovan said Johnson was dropped from the group.

Donovan points out that it was never a Moms for Liberty event, just a get-together for moms, dads, or anyone who wanted to celebrate the end of the school year.

Wye Hill, owned by Raleigh restaurant couple Sara Abernethy and Chris Borreson, emailed Page saying that since the reservation was associated with Moms for Liberty members, they would cancel the reservation.

“It would nullify what we stand for,” the email from Wye Hill read. “We support a safe space for LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming communities. Our values ​​are clearly not aligned with those of Moms4Liberty (sic). While as a company we don’t align politically one way or another, we align on the human issues at hand. We do not endorse any organization that engages in, supports, encourages or promotes intolerance, hatred, terrorism, violence, money laundering or other illegal activities, and we cannot brand Wye Hill on Moms4Liberty (sic).

The Carolina Journal contacted Wye Hill and was asked to email a Charleston, SC public relations firm, South City PR, which did not respond before this article was published.

Johnson states on her Facebook page that she created a Go Fund Me page to fund the “Summer of Rage”, coordinated by her Project Progress NC group. On the group’s website, Johnson identifies herself as a political science student at NC Central University and an activist for “women’s rights and reproductive justice.” She is recruiting activists and raising funds to support the protests that will be held across the Triangle this summer.

Wake County Moms for Liberty is a non-partisan group. Prior to the primary, Page called on Democrats and Republicans to run for office to speak to his group about their positions on issues important to parents. Among the group’s priorities are opposing the excesses of government, promoting freedom and encouraging “freedom-minded leaders to hold elected office.”

“I believe it’s a mission from the left to escalate the negativity around Moms for Liberty to cause some kind of uprising, maybe to raise money or discredit their work,” Donovan said. “We don’t want violence, uprisings or damage to small businesses. The left is escalating.

Going forward, Donovan said Moms for Liberty sees 2022 as “the year of parents,” as parents become more vocal in demanding a say in how their children interact with the school system. audience.

“Moms for Liberty welcomes anyone interested in advocating for parental rights at all levels of government,” the group’s website says. “Moms for Liberty is dedicated to the fight for America’s survival by uniting, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”

The group wants to focus on saving the American family and the role of school boards in our communities. They want to make sure their priorities are part of the political debate.

“That includes Democratic families,” she said. “We want secure families in America.”