Boise GOP senator sends cease and desist letter, claims defamation by ‘Freedom Man’ PAC
Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, hired an attorney to file a cease and desist letter against the ultra-conservative blog “Freedom Man” for making claims on a website and flyer that the senator adamantly disputes.
A former Republican primary challenger to Martin, who is running for re-election to the Legislature next month, sent out a campaign mailer to voters in Boise’s District 15.
Diego Rodriguez, who ran against Martin in 2014 and lost, wrote a blog post about Martin on Sept. 30 on a website called “Freedom Man.” The blog post brings up incidents involving Martin from 2012 and 2014 at a Boise-area high school. Martin was never charged with anything after being at the school after hours.
The mailers sent to voters come from the Freedom Man PAC, according to copies found online. The Idaho Statesman obtained a copy of one mailer sent to a voter calling Martin “Creepy” and claiming to quote from a police report.
David Leroy, the attorney representing Martin, sent the Statesman a copy of the cease and desist letter. The letter says that Freedom Man “misused and misrepresented” police reports and claims defamation. It demands that Freedom Man remove the content from its website and asks that the PAC send out a second mailer in which it apologizes and retracts its statements about Martin.
Leroy noted in the letter that the mailer “Freedom Man” sent out did not include the last line of the police report, where the detective wrote, “I have not identified any criminal activity that is prosecutable.”
According to its website, Freedom Man PAC states, “The purpose of the FREEDOM MAN PAC is to advance the cause of Freedom, Liberty, and the founding principles of the United States of America. To accomplish this, it is our priority to eliminate the scourge of voter ignorance and apathy through mass information, education, and activism.”
On Saturday, Oct. 3, Rodriguez posted a new blog post referencing the letter Leroy sent. The blog attached what Rodriguez said was his response:
“Your letter, which you wrote on behalf of your client, Fred Martin, has been received, and I am very happy to have the opportunity to settle this matter in a court of law. Therefore, in response to your obvious attempt to intimidate me and the Freedom Man PAC, and likewise in response to the demands you have placed in your letter, I simply respond by saying, ‘NO!’”
The Idaho Statesman emailed Freedom Man’s website seeking comment about the flyers and did not receive a response. On Friday, Martin told the Statesman that he could not comment on the allegations.
Idaho Public Television’s “Idaho Reports” wrote an article about the allegations in 2019 and posted a copy of the police report on its website.
Martin is chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and has served four terms in the Idaho Legislature. In 2018, Martin won his seat in the Senate by only 11 votes against Jim Bratnober. The margin was deemed official after a recount of the vote that had Martin initially winning by six votes.
Boise Democrat Rick Just is running against Martin in the general election this year. Martin easily won his May primary election against Sarah Clendenon, garnering 75 percent of the vote.
In a press release sent Tuesday, Just stressed that he and his campaign had no involvement in the flyers.
“I want to reiterate that Senator Martin isn’t suing me or my campaign,” Just said. “He knows we had nothing to do with it.”
“Idaho voters don’t benefit from name-calling and mudslinging campaigns,” Just continued in the news release. “Conservative infighting has escalated to digging up police reports to win campaigns, and that doesn’t serve the people of District 15.”
Just said voters can come to their own conclusions about prior reports on Martin and about the election.
“My campaign is focused on advocating for the issues that Idaho voters care about: quality education, fair property taxes, affordable health care, and transparency in government,” Just said. “I am not going to play political games in my campaign or in the Statehouse. Idahoans don’t want a drama-filled spectacle from their candidates and representatives, they want meaningful change that will benefit their community.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 2:06 PM.
