Bill Gothard, God, and sexual molestation

[Howl]

Oooh, SLAPP law suit threat.  SLAPP = Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation

Quote

 

wiki

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. Such lawsuits have been made illegal in many jurisdictions on the grounds that they impede freedom of speech.

The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. In some cases, repeated frivolous litigation against a defendant may raise the cost of directors and officers liability insurance for that party, interfering with an organization's ability to operate. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat.

 

[QuiverDance]

I had to write an anti SLAPP brief a few years ago.  I don't even want to think about it.  LOL.  

I don't remember where this suit is filed. (It's Dupage Cty, IL)  

Illinois does have anti-SLAPP legislation.  Not sure whether it would apply here. Someone smarter than I is free to take on the analysis.

 

Informative link:

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/anti-slapp-law-illinois

[MissBitters]

4 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Then why was Mr Gothard at their wedding?

They may not be affiliated with his ministry but they certainly were/ are friends-

It's been over two (maybe three) years since their wedding. A lot of stuff has happened since then that could've led them to rejecting Gothard. I think we've all had people close to us that we've had to drop after they've revealed themselves to be shady/horrible/crazy in some way.

Didn't the scandal break out a few months after their wedding? I remember Kelly removed the birthday cake pictures pretty fast after.

[gustava]

3 hours ago, nolongerIFBx said:

Dear friends, we wanted to share with you the following letter that was forwarded to Recovering Grace by the law firm representing the plaintiffs suing Bill Gothard and IBLP.

I'm confused.  Why would those suing Got-hard want to muzzle Recovering Grace?

[DaisyD]

The firm representing the victims received it from the defendant and forwarded it to RG as it concerned them as well.

[Whoosh]

I know virtually nothing about anti-SLAPP as it actually happens, but my gut reaction is that the threat from the Defendants in this case would be problematic on many levels UNLESS they can prove defamation.  For this particular lawsuit, I believe (but am not positive) that Gothard and the Board would qualify as limited public figures meaning that in order to prove defamation, the Defendants would have to prove that people published information that they knew or should have know was false and that they did so with malicious intent or with reckless disregard as to the negative implications of their behavior on the defendants.  

Again, I know only enough to make me dangerous trying to speak about this - so please anyone feel free to correct any of that.  Anyway - regardless of how it works, it looks like this case is going to continue to be ugly and IF the allegations are true it is pretty disgusting to me to see the lengths that the defendants will go to to try to silence the plaintiffs here (but sadly not surprising).  If the allegations are not true and RG knew or should have known that (seems very unlikely to me) - good on the defendants for fighting the defamatory actions of others...

[refugee]

On 2/19/2016 at 8:31 AM, formergothardite said:

So apparently he was well known for being a huge flirt, maybe that is why I recognize his name. 

ETA: Alfred has responded. Not enough people for him to take it seriously. 

 

Why am I suddenly thinking of Abraham's discourse with God, about how many righteous people are in Sodom or Gomorrah, and he bargains him down from, what, 50 to 10?

So even 10 people was enough for the OT God (and all these gothardite things seem to focus on the OT checklist faith, in my mind -- and yes, doug phillips the tool had heavy gothard influences in his teaching) to consider a significant number...

[older than allosaurs]

Homeschoolers Anonymous has linked Gothard's counterfilings and affidavits and Gibbs III's response. Last night I spent too much time I'll never get back, wading through that fetid mess. As a friend of mine once wisely said, "you just can't be cynical enough."

I've got no legal training so my takeaways are just reactions, not analysis.

Bill and his supporters are nakedly, completely, all about the money and power. They make it explicitly clear that the IBLP board was never intended to be anything but a mouthpiece for Bill's decisions. There is no plan for passing on authority when he's gone. Bill included one of his helpful Umbrella of Authority charts to explain to the court that the board has no business making decisions on their own or keeping him away from the helm.

Bill is madder at the board right now than he is at the plaintiffs. He's used to hushing up abuse allegations, I'm guessing. But he hasn't lately dealt with his own hand-picked minions telling him he has to stay away.

Gibbs III used Bill's ire at the board to gather information. Bill figured if Gibbs was suing the board, then they were allies, and it does sound as though G III played along. I wouldn't be surprised if the evidence presented in the form of G III's emails to Bill are enough to derail the suit.

 

[formergothardite]

22 hours ago, older than allosaurs said:

Homeschoolers Anonymous has linked Gothard's counterfilings and affidavits and Gibbs III's response. Last night I spent too much time I'll never get back, wading through that fetid mess. As a friend of mine once wisely said, "you just can't be cynical enough."

I've got no legal training so my takeaways are just reactions, not analysis.

Bill and his supporters are nakedly, completely, all about the money and power. They make it explicitly clear that the IBLP board was never intended to be anything but a mouthpiece for Bill's decisions. There is no plan for passing on authority when he's gone. Bill included one of his helpful Umbrella of Authority charts to explain to the court that the board has no business making decisions on their own or keeping him away from the helm.

Bill is madder at the board right now than he is at the plaintiffs. He's used to hushing up abuse allegations, I'm guessing. But he hasn't lately dealt with his own hand-picked minions telling him he has to stay away.

Gibbs III used Bill's ire at the board to gather information. Bill figured if Gibbs was suing the board, then they were allies, and it does sound as though G III played along. I wouldn't be surprised if the evidence presented in the form of G III's emails to Bill are enough to derail the suit.

 

I haven't read all the info about the counter filings, but that is concerning.

Bill is very, very mad at the board, though. These are the people he handpicked because he thought they were mindless minions but instead they decided to stick with the money, not him. They tricked him and he is not going to forgive that. 

[Othello]

4 hours ago, formergothardite said:

Bill is very, very mad at the board, though. These are the people he handpicked because he thought they were mindless minions but instead they decided to stick with the money, not him. They tricked him and he is not going to forgive that. 

This paragraph fills me with schadenfreude. *giggles evilly* Maybe this makes me an awful person, but it's delightful to see him getting a taste of his own treatment. 

[HereticHick]

I'm sorry I missed this article from a few weeks back in the Longview, TX newspaper:

 

http://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/jan/14/institute-in-basic-life-principles-moves-to-east-t/

"A reunion of sorts is occurring outside Big Sandy, where staff at the International ALERT Academy has been welcoming arrivals with a sister ministry making the move to East Texas...

Samuel Waller, a spokesman for the Institute in Basic Life Principles, said six or so staff members from Chicago have moved to the ALERT Academy, including himself about two weeks ago.

Staff size fluctuates at the 50-year-old ministry in Wheaton, Illinois, but recently was at 60. All are invited to join the move, which he said should be completed in four or five months"

 

The article includes a bunch of pics of the Big Sandy campus as well.  I interpret this article as implying that anyone who wants to stay employed with IBLP needs to move to  Big Sandy. So Staddons and Weilens need either start packing or start job hunting.

[nst]

I am assuming you all saw on Pickles site that Erin told her mother not to comment on her page 

clearly - he feels he can and she shut him down 

 

[HereticHick]

2 hours ago, nst said:

I am assuming you all saw on Pickles site that Erin told her mother not to comment on her page 

clearly - he feels he can and she shut him down 

 

No, but on the Bates thread they are discussing Lawson commenting  on his sister Erin's Instagram

[nst]

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

No, but on the Bates thread they are discussing Lawson commenting  on his sister Erin's Instagram

I meant brother yet I said mother 

sorry

 

[HereticHick]

Last week a commenter asked on the Staddons' blog:

 

 

[Sweet Fellowship]

16 hours ago, nst said:

I am assuming you all saw on Pickles site that Erin told her mother not to comment on her page 

clearly - he feels he can and she shut him down 

 

I was surprised to see that. I didn't expect that of Erin, even if it was just a little hint for Lawson to use his own Instagram profile for such things. It still came off a tad passive-aggressive.

[MissBitters]

Whether or not Erin agrees with Lawson's defense, it has to be annoying to have your phone blow up with Instagram notifications after your younger brother decides to add his two cents to an issue that you've already addressed. I would be telling my brother the same damn thing, except maybe not as nice.

[FormerlyFundyLite]

Update on IBLP: Bill Gothard’s Former Institute Loses ECFA Accreditation over Governance (http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/march/bill-gothard-iblp-loses-ecfa-accreditation-governance.html).

ECFA is the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and they're kind of like the Evangelical version of Charity Navigator.

 

[16strong]

I had no idea that the plaintiff total had risen to 18. Holy smokes! I am glad more women are feeling encouraged to come forward and tell their stories. The victims (all of them) need to be heard. How many more are there than *just* 18? This number really puts things into perspective, imo.

[SilverBeach]

2 hours ago, FormerlyFundyLite said:

Update on IBLP: Bill Gothard’s Former Institute Loses ECFA Accreditation over Governance (http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/march/bill-gothard-iblp-loses-ecfa-accreditation-governance.html).

ECFA is the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and they're kind of like the Evangelical version of Charity Navigator.

 

I was just going to post this, decided to look around first! Thanks!

[jas]

20 hours ago, FormerlyFundyLite said:

Update on IBLP: Bill Gothard’s Former Institute Loses ECFA Accreditation over Governance (http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/march/bill-gothard-iblp-loses-ecfa-accreditation-governance.html).

ECFA is the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and they're kind of like the Evangelical version of Charity Navigator.

 

I am so happy to read this. While the "liberal" media reporting of scandals can be dismissed as being biased, the ECFA must be much harder for Gothard's supporters to ignore.

The fact that IBLP is struggling financially gives me hope that people's eyes are being opened and the whole institute will continue to loose influence before disappearing altogether.

I applaud the bravery of the plaintiffs, who now include 2 men, for taking on this organisation that held so much power over them.

[luv2laugh]

How likely is this going to affect IBLP financially? Will David Waller, Staddons, and Brandon Keilen have to worry about their jobs?

[HereticHick]

How ironic that in honor of Daniel Staddon's engagement, the Staddons just posted a video about Daniel posting about how he's be working in the IBLP finance department for the past 5 years.  http://staddonfamily.com/2016/03/19/more-about-daniel/

As GEBush would say, heck of a job, Dannie.

[Cleopatra7]

16 hours ago, luv2laugh said:

How likely is this going to affect IBLP financially? Will David Waller, Staddons, and Brandon Keilen have to worry about their jobs?

Part me says they'll simply graft on to some other parasitic "ministry" but another part of me thinks that each one of them might try to start their own "ministries" to fill the void, thus allowing them to be the head honcho, rather than just another office drone. However, the fact that IBLP is losing money and followers so rapidly suggests that fewer people are interested in what IBLP is selling. Maybe the Duggars thought their "ministry" would entice people to ATI and IBLP, but they were unsuccessful even before the Joshgates. Perhaps this is why so much emphasis is on eschewing birth control, because if you can't attract followers, you have to make your own.

[Sundaymorning]

1 hour ago, Cleopatra7 said:

Part me says they'll simply graft on to some other parasitic "ministry" but another part of me thinks that each one of them might try to start their own "ministries" to fill the void, thus allowing them to be the head honcho, rather than just another office drone. However, the fact that IBLP is losing money and followers so rapidly suggests that fewer people are interested in what IBLP is selling. Maybe the Duggars thought their "ministry" would entice people to ATI and IBLP, but they were unsuccessful even before the Joshgates. Perhaps this is why so much emphasis is on eschewing birth control, because if you can't attract followers, you have to make your own.

How well do such ministries in the US "work"? Would they make enough to provide for their families?

Another option for them would be to become a bit more fundie-lite and try to join one of the many conservative evangelical organisations or ministries, unless of course, the image of IBLP is so bad that even they don't want to have anything to do with former employees.