Board of education meetings, which are open to the public, are often viewed as relatively mundane affairs where the details of district policy are hashed out. But don’t tell that to the Augusta Board of Education. Its members, along with Board Chair Martha Witham and the Augusta School Department, find themselves facing a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in the state of Maine on January 27, 2026, by a resident who takes issue with discussions of transgender policies by the board.
Nicholas Blanchard, a resident of Augusta who does not have a child in the Augusta school system, claims that he’s had his First Amendment rights violated by being interrupted and cut off while making public comments at Augusta school board meetings. Among other counts, Blanchard accuses the board of clear-cut viewpoint discrimination.
Augusta board members maintain that Blanchard repeatedly violated the meeting policy prohibiting abusive or negative comments about school employees or board members.
Living Up to the Maine Motto of “I Lead”
While the U.S. Department of Education sets rules on a federal level, local BOEs are responsible for representing their jurisdiction’s taxpayers. They are tasked with creating and amending the policies that educate the children of their community, usually meeting once or twice a month. While BOEs have paid members, many are populated by volunteers. As of a few years ago, over a dozen states prohibited BOE members from getting paid, but most have amended those policies. In general, salaries for BOE members tend to be minimal.
BOE meetings can be attended by anyone and serve as a public comment period. While most speakers are parents with children in the school district, the microphone is open to anyone.
First Amendment in BOE Meetings: Blanchard v. Augusta Board of Education
Despite pressure from the Trump administration, the state of Maine passed legislation protecting the civil rights of transgender students and athletes. This didn’t sit well with Blanchard, a devoted supporter of President Donald Trump.
Also known as “Corn Pop,” Blanchard began attending BOE meetings across the state to express his opposition to Maine’s transgender policies in schools, along with other concerns and opinions. After allegedly being cut off “with bias” numerous times during BOE meetings for the city of Augusta, Blanchard filed suit.
While Blanchard’s lawsuit includes the Augusta BOE and school system, it mainly focuses on BOE Chair Witham. He claims that Witham “will interrupt and bar him from saying anything she dislikes.” The counts in the suit allege that the “Policy BEDH,” in effect during meetings and enforced against him, caused viewpoint discrimination, unreasonable restriction, vagueness, and overbreadth, all First Amendment violations.
In his complaint, Blanchard cites multiple cases in support of his First Amendment argument that his speech was prohibited due to his opposing viewpoints. He argues that the board discriminates by banning comments that the board considers “abusive, vulgar, gossip, defamatory or a complaint or allegation against school employees.” He adds that the board has interpreted their “vague” Policy BEDH even more broadly when singling out those with opposing viewpoints.
Blanchard is seeking injunctions against the Augusta BOE restricting his right to free speech during meetings, lawyer’s fees, and $17.91 in damages.
Discovery Ought To Be REALLY Interesting
The lawsuit lists several instances of Blanchard’s behavior that the BOE labeled as disruptive, which served as its justification for ending his speaking privileges. These include:
- Criticizing board members and school personnel
- Stating they were “soft beta males who won’t stand up for what is right”
- Discussing how he was collecting signatures on a petition to have the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) President Kim Liscomb fired
- Standing at the podium with his mouth taped shut with the words “I can’t speak”
- Using an AI-generated version of Donald Trump’s voice to deliver Blanchard’s argument on First Amendment rights. When told he had to use his own voice at the podium, Blanchard instead placed a Chinese flag on Witham’s desk and stepped away.
- Stating that he was done “watching the alphabet cult shove its propaganda down our throat and in our schools”
Other actions performed by Blanchard during BOE meetings that are not mentioned in the lawsuit include:
- Bringing a cardboard Trump stand-up to a meeting
- Being part of a group that slowly stripped off their clothing during a meeting
- Accusing a board member of drinking wine during a meeting and passing out wine glasses to board members while in session
There were also multiple instances of Blanchard making comments without being limited, censored, or shut down. These included the final three meetings held by the Augusta BOE in 2025.
Not His First Lawsuit
The complaint against the Augusta BOE is not the only pending litigation for Blanchard. He filed a false arrest suit on January 8, 2026, against the Augusta Police Department, which detained him for an hour for bringing a realistic-looking pepper ball handgun as part of his counter-protest to a “No Kings” rally last year. He’s also involved in the arrest of a lawyer on January 12, 2026, who Blanchard claimed assaulted him. The attorney countered that he bumped into Blanchard by accident. Blanchard was also arrested on OUI charges in February 2025.
In addition to his suits, Blanchard is going to try to make changes from the inside, as evidenced by his decision to run for a seat on the Augusta BOE.
Related Resources
- What Is Municipal Law? (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- Multiple States Rebuked for Denying Transgender Health Care (FindLaw’s Federal Courts)
- Choosing a School (FindLaw’s Education Law)
