Court To Liberty University: Your Liability Insurance Doesn't Cover Kidnapping Children From Their Gay Parents

On the same day in 2012 that a preacher was found guilty of abetting the kidnapping of her daughter to Nicaragua, lesbian mom Janet Jenkins filed a RICO lawsuit against many of the parties suspected of conspiring in the crime, including Liberty University, the parent of the vile anti-gay hate group Liberty Counsel, whose president Mat Staver is specifically named in the suit. Today the ACLU reports that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court's ruling that Liberty University's liability insurance policy covers such lawsuits. Read the ruling. (Tipped by JMG reader BK)

Tony Perkins Endorses The Kidnapping Of Children From Their Gay Parents

"Faced with losing her seven-year-old daughter to her former lesbian partner, Lisa Miller made the only choice a new Christian could: she sought her minister's help. After two courts ordered Lisa to transfer custody of her biological daughter to a woman with no adoptive rights, she felt she had no choice but to flee the country. Kenneth Miller, a Mennonite pastor from Vermont, helped her escape--and will now be paying for it with a 27-month prison sentence.

"Last summer, a jury found him guilty of helping Lisa and her daughter, Isabella, travel from Virginia to the Canadian border and then to Central America via the Toronto airport. During the two-hour sentencing, Miller told the judge he 'couldn't promise' that he would never again help a parent smuggle a son or daughter out of the country. He saw, as so many of us do, a vulnerable child--and a government bent on redefining family law to the exclusion of the actual parents. 'I give myself unto you to do with me as you see fit,' an emotional Miller told the court. To many of us, the pastor's predicament seems extreme--but a day may come when we all have to make a similar choice.

"Obviously, there are things we can do between now and then to protect ourselves, like electing strong conservative leaders and resisting the ever-growing reach of the federal government. But under an administration as hostile to faith as this one is, Christians may soon find themselves in the same position of breaking an unjust law. Will you have the courage to do what Kenneth Miller did? Don't wait until the moment is upon you before contemplating this. Are you willing to accept the penalty instead of compromising your principles?" - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, endorsing the kidnapping of children from their gay parents.

VA Pastor Sentenced To Prison For Aiding Kidnapping Of Child Of Lesbian Mom

Pastor Kenneth Miller has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in the kidnapping of the child of a lesbian mom whose former partner "renounced homosexuality" and fled with their child to Nicaragua in violation of a court-ordered custody sharing arrangement. Miller spent 30 days in jail for contempt earlier this year after refusing to name his accomplices, telling the court, "If I were to bring testimony against a fellow member of Christ’s kingdom, for honoring Christ’s kingdom’s laws, I would be disloyal to his kingdom and to Christ."

Mr. Miller was convicted last fall for helping to arrange the covert flight to Nicaragua of Lisa A. Miller with her daughter, Isabella Miller-Jenkins, in 2009.  Ms. Miller, who is not related to the pastor, had won support in conservative Christian circles for refusing to permit court-mandated visits with Isabella by her other legal mother, Janet Jenkins, Ms. Miller’s former partner in a civil union in Vermont. After the couple split up, Ms. Miller moved to Virginia, said she was a born-again Christian and denounced her former lesbianism as a sin. In 2009, as an exasperated family court judge threatened to transfer primary custody to Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Miller and her daughter, then 7, disappeared and a warrant was issued for Ms. Miller’s arrest.

The pastor remains free as his attorneys plan an appeal.  You may recall that the case also involves Liberty University and law professor Mat Staver, the head of the virulently anti-gay Liberty Counsel, whose secretary is alleged to have assisted in the kidnapping. In August 2012 Liberty Counsel and numerous other parties were named in a civil suit filed by Janet Jenkins.  The suit notes that the named parties have signed the infamous Manhattan Declaration, whose supporters vow to disobey laws that protect LGBT people.  At the time the suit was filed, Staver threatened to retaliate and sue Jenkins for defamation, but it's not known if he ever did. The whereabouts of Lisa Miller and the child remain unknown. (Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

Nicaraguan Pastors: We Will Die Or Go To Prison Before Giving Up Kidnapped Child

The Nicaraguan pastors shielding Isabella Miller from her lesbian mom say they will gladly go to prison or be put to death before surrendering the child to authorities. Last month a jury convicted one of their American conspirators on the same day that the girl's mother filed a RICO lawsuit against numerous U.S.-based Christian groups.

The Brotherhood says that they forgive their persecutors, but will stand firm in the defense of Isabella, now 10 years old, who “has become an innocent victim of an ungodly agenda.” “Her wellbeing has not been given much or any consideration. According to the Bible we believe that God has given Lisa sole responsibility to care and protect her own daughter since she has no known father. According to the Bible it is a war between good and evil, a battle between God and Satan. As congregations we stand united in this spiritual warfare against evil.”

The Brotherhood add that they are willing to suffer imprisonment or death in the cause of protecting Isabella. “The fact is that suddenly we find ourselves having to choose between obeying God and man made laws,” they write. “We have chosen to obey God. We are willing to give up our rights, go to jail, or even die, for the cause of helping anyone become free from a sinful life and helping that person to live in obedience to God’s Word.”

The Liberty Counsel, who was named in Janet Jenkins' lawsuit, say they plan to sue her for defamation.

Liberty Counsel: We Will Sue Lesbian Mom For Defamation Over Kidnapping Suit

Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver says lesbian mother Janet Jenkins' lawsuit against his organization is defamatory and they will seek "every possible recourse" against her for filing it. Two weeks ago Jenkins filed a civil RICO suit against Staver and numerous other anti-gay defendants after a preacher was found guilty of assisting in the kidnapping of her daughter to Central America.

“This is outrageously frivolous,” Staver told LifeSiteNews.com. “It’s a press release filed in federal court. It is sanctionable, and we will pursue every recourse possible because this suit is defamatory. It’s filled with lies, it’s frivolous, and the attorney who filed it ought to be sanctioned…” The suit, filed on behalf of Vermont lesbian Janet Jenkins, claims that Liberty University School of Law, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Christian Aid Ministries, and other organizations and individuals are involved in various schemes of “conspiracy” and “racketeering” for allegedly offering support for ex-lesbian Lisa Miller’s and her daughter’s escape from the United States in 2009.

An interesting comment on the above-linked site reads:

Mr. Staver should find himself a good defense lawyer; actually two lawyers: a civil one and a criminal one. The law is against him - parties to litigation in the US have absolute immunity from defamation liability for anything relevant that is said or written in prosecuting or defending a lawsuit. The facts are against him as well - the trial that resulted in a criminal, beyond a reasonable doubt, conviction by 12 unanimous jurors was of someone who was coordinating illegal activity with people at Liberty University, including Mr. Staver.

Jenkins' lawsuit notes that the named parties signed the infamous Manhattan Declaration, whose supporters vow to disobey laws that protect LGBT people.

Headline Of The Day

This is how Christianist media is spinning the Lisa Miller case.

Lesbian Mom Of Kidnapped Daughter Files Organized Crime Suit Against Multiple Christian Organizations

On the same day that a preacher was found guilty of abetting the kidnapping of her daughter to Nicaragua, Janet Jenkins filed a RICO lawsuit against many of the parties suspected of conspiring in the crime, including Liberty University, the parent of the vile anti-gay hate group Liberty Counsel, whose president Mat Staver is specifically named in the suit.

Hoo-motherfucking-RAY!

The RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) provides for civil lawsuits against ongoing criminal enterprises involving multiple parties. Right Wing Wing excerpts the suit:

Unbeknownst to Plaintiff Janet Jenkins, in 2009 Victoria Zodhiates (now Hyden) was an employee of Response Unlimited, Inc., and also a "student worker" at Liberty University School of Law. On information and belief, Victoria Zodhiates sent an email during this time period to her co-workers at the law school requesting donations for supplies to send to Lisa Miller to enable her to remain outside the country. Lisa Miller's attorney, Matthew Staver was the Dean of the Law School and Ms. Zodhiates's boss. Matthew Staver and Philip Zodhiates were also personal acquaintances at this time. On September 20, 2009, both Philip Zodhiates and Victoria Hyden called Lisa Miller's father, Terry Miller in Tennessee to assist in arranging her and Isabella's transportation from a Walmart parking lot in Lynchburg, Virginia, to Waynesboro, Virginia, from whence they would depart for Canada and Nicaragua the next day.

We will follow this suit VERY closely as it proceeds! Now let's see if the feds file some actual criminal charges for all parties. Liberty Counsel spokesdouche Matt Barber is spinning the lawsuit as an honor.

BREAKING: Jury Finds Preacher Guilty Of Kidnapping Daughter Of Lesbian Mom

Finally we have some (partial) resolution in the case of Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" mom who kidnapped her daughter to Nicaragua rather than obey multiple court orders that awarded custody to her former partner. Via the Hartford Courant:

A Mennonite minister was found guilty on Tuesday of aiding and abetting international kidnapping by helping a woman flee to Nicaragua with her daughter to evade court orders giving visitation rights to her former lesbian partner. The case has drawn widespread attention as gay rights groups and evangelical Christian groups have taken opposing sides in the legal battle between the two women over Isabella Miller-Jenkins, now 10. Federal prosecutors say Kenneth Miller of Stuarts Draft, Virginia, helped orchestrate Lisa Miller's flight to Canada and Nicaragua in 2009 with her daughter out of Christian solidarity with her decision to reject homosexuality and her former partner. The two Millers are not related. The jury deliberated only a few hours before finding Kenneth Miller guilty. He faces the possibility of three years in prison. No sentencing date was set.

I said "partial" because NOW we need to see some felony conspiracy counts for Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver and his accomplices.

Bryan Fischer: Christians Should Kidnap The Children Of Gay And Lesbian Parents

For years here on JMG we've been following the case of Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" woman who kidnapped her daughter to Central America after losing several court cases that awarded custody to her former partner. The preacher accused of facilitating that crime is about to go on trial, prompting American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer to issue calls for an anti-gay "Underground Railroad" to help shield the kidnappers of the children of gay parents.

As you may recall, that "Underground Railroad" already exists in the form of the virulently anti-gay Liberty Counsel, as the kidnapped child was found living in the Nicaraguan home of the father of a Liberty Counsel employee. Over at Dead Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, students were taught that it's sometimes best to obey "God's laws" rather than "man's laws" and that "righteous kidnapping" in cases such as Lisa Miller's were justified. Those classes were taught by Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver and Lina Lindevaldsen, both of whom represented Miller in her failed custody attempts. The students were then tested on whether they'd break the law for God.

That semester’s midterm exam, obtained by Religion Dispatches, included a question based on Miller’s case asking students to describe what advice they would give her “as a friend who is a Christian lawyer.” After laying out a slanted history of the protracted legal battle, the exam asked, “Lisa needs your counsel on how to think through her legal situation and how to respond as a Christian to this difficult problem. Relying only on what we have learned thus far in class, how would you counsel Lisa?”

Students who wrote that Miller should comply with court orders received bad grades while those who wrote she should engage in civil disobedience received an A, the three students said. “People were appalled,” said one of the students, adding, “especially as lawyers-to-be, who are trained and licensed to practice the law—to disobey that law, that seemed completely counterintuitive to all of us.” Still, some knew what they needed to “regurgitate,” in order to get a good grade. “It was obvious by the substance of the class during the semester the answer that they wanted,” said one of the students. “The majority of people that I am acquainted with who did get As wrote that because it was expected of them.”

As word broke late last year that the federal government was about to find Lisa Miller, Fischer and other anti-gay sites declared that the FBI had been infiltrated by the "gaystapo."

Lisa and Isabella are not free. The FBI is after them. At any time, they may be captured. At any time, Isabella may be kidnapped by the FBI and her mother arrested. America is resurrecting Sodom with a vengeance, supported by the formidable power of the State. While Christian social services in the US are losing their traditional right to help children because they refuse state orders to adopt children to homosexual couples.

Fischer's tweets from yesterday (at the top of this post) have generated widespread condemnation, which is an everyday occurrence when he bloviates on any topic. But this time even some anti-gay and Christian sites are backing away from him, resulting in today's flurry of "clarifications."I recommend reading last week's exhaustive New York Times cover story on the kidnapping. We can only hope that after the preacher's trial will come multiple conspiracy counts for Mat Staver and his Liberty Counsel accomplices.

The Gaystapo Runs The FBI

Homofascist thugs are forcing the FBI to search for the kidnapped daughter of "ex-gay" fugitive Lisa Miller. So sez LifeSiteNews:

Lisa and Isabella are not free. The FBI is after them. At any time, they may be captured. At any time, Isabella may be kidnapped by the FBI and her mother arrested. America is resurrecting Sodom with a vengeance, supported by the formidable power of the State. While Christian social services in the US are losing their traditional right to help children because they refuse state orders to adopt children to homosexual couples, lesbian activist Janet Jenkins is free to run a day care. And because of Janet’s radical activism, Isabella and her mother are not free or safe from massive state persecution. Persecution for their faith and their refusal to compromise with evil.

This tragedy was made possible only because gay civil unions were allowed in Vermont. And when homosexual “marriage” is allowed, the gay agenda and the State become united in an unholy “marriage,” where special rights and freedoms are granted to those in the footsteps of Sodom. This unholy “marriage” enables homosexual activists to oppress and persecute people who renounce homosexual perversion, with assistance of the FBI, which has effectively become — at least in the Jenkins-Miller case — a Gaystapo.

FBI Makes Arrest In Lisa Miller Case

The FBI have made an arrest in connection with Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" mother who vanished with her daughter in 2009 after courts awarded custody of the child to Janet Jenkins, her former partner. When Miller failed to surrender Isabella Jenkins-Miller, now age nine, to her ex, police issued a warrant for parental kidnapping. Metro Weekly reports:

According to court documents, the FBI arrested Timothy David Miller in Alexandria on charges that he aided in the international parental kidnapping of Isabella Miller-Jenkins by one of her two mothers, Lisa Miller. The FBI statement says Lisa Miller took her child to Mexico in September 2009 ''with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights by Janet Jenkins,'' her former civil union partner. The statement says Timothy Miller provided assistance with Lisa Miller's travel from the U.S. to Toronto and then to Mexico City, and provided shelter for her. The Millers then continued on to Managua, Nicaragua, later that month. A warrant for Lisa Miller's arrest was issued in April 2010. Sarah Star, a Vermont attorney representing Jenkins, said Friday that, despite Timothy Miller's arrest, ''We still don't know where they are now." Jenkins issued a statement saying she hopes ''Isabella is safe and well" and that she is looking forward to "having my daughter home safe with me very soon."

According to the FBI, Lisa Miller has been receiving checks issued by the Lynchburg Christian Academy, an affiliate of Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Church. Before vanishing, Miller had been legally assisted by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, leading many to speculate that they had a hand in her disappearance. That appears to be the case as the Liberty Counsel is also affiliated with Falwell's Liberty University. Let's hope the FBI is questioning Matt Barber.

UPDATE: In an extensive story on today's news, the Advocate notes that Miller's Liberty Counsel attorney is named in the FBI's affidavit.

Miller’s attorney, Liberty associate professor of law Rena M. Lindevaldsen, could not be reached for comment Friday, though a Liberty representative asked to see Kaegel’s affidavit and said that any allegations of misconduct on the part of the organization were false.

Every involved Liberty Counsel member should be indicted!

Read the FBI affidavit. (PDF)

UPDATE II: In an addition to their above-linked story, the Advocate notes that the Liberty Counsel has now scrubbed their website of the bio of an employee named in the FBI affidavit. The normally Twitter-happy Liberty Counsel has so far remained mum on the growing scandal.

UPDATE III: Right Wing Watch notes that the FBI's affidavit reveals that Lisa Miller and her daughter have been living in a Nicaragua house owned by the father of Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver's secretary.

How it is that Liberty Counsel's most high profile client kidnaps her daughter and flees the country and the organization insists for more than a year that it has no idea where she is ... only to have it turn out that she is reportedly living in a home owned by the father of an admin assistant in Staver's very own office?

Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber Accuses Courts Of "Kidnapping" Isabella Miller

How's THIS for chutzpah? Matt Barber says it's the COURTS that have "kidnapped" Isabella Miller. And not Lisa Miller, her whackadoodle "ex-gay" biological mother whom many suspect was spirited out of the country by the Liberty Counsel themselves when custody of Isabella was awarded to Miller's former partner, Janet Jenkins. The Liberty Counsel claims not to have seen or heard from Lisa Miller in over a year, yet they continue to represent her in court. Matt Barber, where are YOU hiding Isabella Miller?

SCOTUS Rejects Lisa Miller Case

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" biological mother who lost custody of her daughter to her former partner.

The justices on Monday turned down an appeal from Lisa Miller, the biological mother of an 8-year-old girl. Miller wanted the court to undo a Virginia court decision allowing Janet Jenkins visitation rights with the girl. Jenkins is from Vermont. Miller is from Virginia. They were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000. Their daughter has been the subject of a long-running legal fight. Miller has renounced her homosexuality. She and her daughter did not appear for a court-ordered custody swap in January. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Miller's case has been championed by both the "ex-gay" movement and by anti-gay Christianist groups who believe that gays should never have parental rights. It is suspected by many that Miller and her daughter Isabelle have been spirited out of the country by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, who represents her.

Lisa Miller Gets Another Month To Hide

A family court judge in Virginia has given Lisa Miller another 30 days to appear with her 7 year-old daughter or face arrest. Presumably aided by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, Miller went into hiding last month after a Vermont judge awarded custody of her daughter to Miller's lesbian ex-partner, Janet Jenkins. After "renouncing" her homosexuality and finding Jeebus, Miller had fled to Virginia upon the advice of Christianist lawyers who told her that state was the least likely to honor custody judgments from Vermont. The lawyers, obviously, were correct.

Virginia Police Issue Missing Persons Report For Lisa Miller And Daughter

"Ex-gay" Lisa Miller and her daughter Isabella remain on the lam, one week after a Vermont judge ordered Miller to surrender custody of Isabella to Miller's ex-partner, Janet Jenkins. Yesterday the Bedford County, Virginia sheriff's office issued a missing persons report for the pair, saying that while no Virginia laws have been broken, they do want proof that the pair is safe.

However on Monday the Virginia Civil Liberty Union reported that a local court order has been issued requiring that Miller surrender the child. The VCLU says they fully expect Virginian authorities to enforce the order. But on Wednesday, a Rutland Family Court judge said he wants to "hear all arguments" before issuing any arrest warrant. That hearing is scheduled for January 22nd. Miller's lawyers, the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, home to bigots Mat Staver and Matt Barber, have appealed the original Vermont ruling, but have remained silent on the Virginia court order. In fact, they have been "unavailable for comment" ever since Miller and her daughter went into hiding.

According to earlier reports, Lisa Miller specifically chose to flee to Virginia because "pro-family" lawyers had advised her that was the state least likely to abide by the Vermont ruling. With the Rutland County judge dragging his feet to order an arrest warrant, it appears that might have been good advice. Now it seems that we'll have to wait and see if Miller and her Liberty Counsel lawyers even bother to appear for the Jan. 22nd hearing, or if they'll continue to defy the Vermont court and illegally cloak the whereabouts of Miller and Isabella.

"Ex-Gay" Lesbian Lisa Miller Still In Hiding With Her Daughter

Lisa Miller (left) has until tomorrow to hand her daughter Isabella over to her ex-partner Janet Jenkins and nobody is saying where they are hiding, especially not the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, Miller's attorneys, who appear to be complicit in Isabella's kidnapping.

"She does not know where her daughter is and she is trying to find her," Sarah Star, an attorney representing Jenkins, told ABCNews.com. Star says Jenkins last saw her daughter in January 2009 and spoke with her in March 2009. In his custody ruling, Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen said nobody has "seen or heard from" Miller and Isabella since Nov. 20. The judge ordered custody to be switched from Miller to Jenkins after Miller repeatedly failed to allow visitation for her former partner. An assistant to the lawyers representing Miller, Mathew Staver and Stephen Crampton, told ABCNews.com that the lawyers were "on vacation and unavailable for comment on the matter." A Facebook page seemingly set up by Miller appears to show the last posting from the mother being on Dec. 4.

The Protect Isabella Coalition is screaming "judicial tyranny." Here's a clip they made earlier this year, before full custody was awarded to Janet Jenkins.