Moms for Liberty attendees were met by protesters in Philadelphia; Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis among speakers

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PHILADELPHIA — Presented on Friday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touted the 2024 election as the year parents “finally fight back” as he began the annual gathering of Moms for Liberty, a group that strongly opposes race- and gender-identity-related teaching in classrooms. -school of the country.

The two-year-old group, founded in Florida in 2021 to fight local COVID school mask mandates and quarantine requirements, has quickly become a force in conservative politics as an advocate for “parental rights” in education. But it has also been accused of preaching hate, with the Southern Poverty Law Center recently labeling it an “extremist” group for allegedly harassing community members, promoting anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and fighting to remove diverse and inclusive material from lesson plans.

Still, the conference drew top Republican presidential candidates, including DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, the race’s frontrunner, who are scheduled to speak later Friday afternoon.

DeSantis, in his remarks at a downtown Philadelphia hotel, praised the group for “attacking the left,” saying it was “a sign that we are winning this fight.” He ran his efforts in Florida to ban discussions of race and sexual identity in classrooms as well as certain books from school libraries. And he promised to “fight the woke” as president.

“I think what we’ve seen across this country in recent years is the awakening of the most powerful political force in the country: Mama bears. And they’re ready to roll,” he said, predicting that mothers will be “the main force political for this 2024 cycle.”

“2024 will be the year when parents across the country finally fight back,” he said.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, another GOP candidate, has railed against transgender female athletes competing on women’s sports teams — an issue that has become a major flashpoint for the right and she calls “one of the biggest issues of women of our time.”

“They’re literally trying to erase all the progress we’ve made all this time,” he said. “We have to fight for our girls.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are scheduled to give remarks at the conference Saturday.

The high interest in the event among GOP hopefuls underscores the influence of Moms for Liberty, which has made connections with powerful GOP organizations, politicians and donors to become a major player in 2024. The group said that it has no plans to endorse any presidential candidate in the primary election.

The group has evolved from three mothers in Florida protesting the COVID-19 mandates in 2021 to claiming 285 chapters in 45 states. Along the way, it has found a close ally in DeSantis, who was presented with a “liberty sword” at the group’s first annual meeting last year and has signed numerous bills supported by Moms for Liberty.

Beyond comments from the candidates and other speakers, the summit will feature strategy sessions on topics such as “protecting children from gender ideology” and “comprehensive sex education: sex ed or sexualization .”

Summit attendees said they liked what they were hearing so far.

“I love Moms for Liberty,” said Debbie McGinley, who is running for school board in the Methacton School District outside Philadelphia. As a parent of three children who lost their hairdressing business during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she appreciates that the group is “fighting for our children.”

Lucy Reyna, a treasurer for a local Moms for Liberty chapter in Indiana, said she traveled to the conference to learn more about the national organization.

“What’s my part? I need to know those things,” Reyna said, adding that if the group leans too partisan in one direction, she’ll reconsider her involvement.

Outside, about 100 parent activists and LGBTQ+ advocates gathered to protest, citing the Southern Poverty Law Center’s designation of the group as an “anti-government extremist” organization. They chanted, “Not in our city” and “Let’s say gay” while holding signs that read, “Hate is not patriotic” and “Philly is the LGBTQest city.”

Some protesters said specific incidents spurred their activism, including an Indiana Moms for Liberty chapter that published an Adolf Hitler quote in its newsletter before it apologized and removed it, and a Tennessee chapter complaining about lectures on Black civil rights figure Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges.

“I think they stand for fear. And that turns into hate very quickly,” said Molly Roses, a Philadelphia resident who joined the protest.

In the days leading up to the conference, several historical associations, state senators, activists and employees at Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution unsuccessfully pleaded with the museum to cancel a welcome event for the conference on Thursday night. The event went according to plan.

The museum told The Associated Press that “because fostering understanding within a democratic society is so central to our mission, denying visitors based on ideology is in fact counter to our purpose.”

Haley acknowledged the protesters in her speech, saying she “appreciates that” as an expression of free speech.

People for the American Way was among several groups that rallied against Friday’s gathering. Its “Grandparents for Truth” campaign mobilizes grandparents and other supporters “fighting for the next generation’s freedom to learn.”

One grandparent, Maureen Carreo, said she was not taught diverse history as a child and wanted something different for her five grandchildren.

“I would hope that we teach the totality of history,” she said. “And, yeah, you might feel a little bad or sad or whatever, but that’s part of history.”

In her remarks before DeSantis’ speech, Moms for Liberty National Director of Engagement Tia Bess rejected claims that the group is racist.

“Do I look racist to all of you?” Bess, who is Black, told the overwhelmingly white audience.

Tiffany Justice, one of the group’s co-founders, responded sarcastically to the SPLC’s “extremist” label on stage Friday, referring to herself as “the face of domestic terrorism, apparently.”

Although Moms for Liberty claims to be non-partisan, it has drawn largely conservative support. The group also fought to elect conservative candidates to school boards across the country.

Although the group’s status as a 501(c)4 nonprofit means it does not have to disclose its funders, its public donors include conservative powerhouses such as the Heritage Foundation and the Leadership Institute, a national organization in political training.

Patriot Mobile, a far-right Christian cellphone company that pays to sponsor Trump’s conference speeches, has a political action committee that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to influence Texas school boards.

Mom for Liberty’s Florida-based PAC also received a $50,000 donation from Julie Fancelli, a Republican donor whose family owns Publix grocery stores and helped fund Trump’s Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally, according to House January 6 committee findings. Facelli did not respond to a request for comment.

Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running in the Democratic presidential primary, was scheduled to speak at the group’s summit, but his “campaign told us his schedule has changed,” Justice said.

Kennedy’s press team said he was stepping down “for family reasons.” Hours later, Kennedy told a town hall with NewsNation that he “made a mistake accepting that invitation” and that when he learned of Moms for Liberty’s positions on LGBTQ+ issues, he “refused to go.”

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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press video journalist David R. Martin contributed reporting.

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