ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥 The St. Charles library employee targeted for her makeup and goatee is suing outspoken library critic Rachel Homolak and others for defamation and invasion of privacy, as well as a Maryland Heights church the suit says 鈥渦rged congregants to take action to oppose persons who are members of the 鈥楲GBT crowd.鈥欌
Attorneys for Danny Roberson, who works at a branch of the St. Charles City-County Library District, say the actions and false statements spread by Homolak, Grace Church STL and four other individuals have put her in danger, damaged her reputation by falsely accusing her of sexually targeting children and interfered with her employment by making her the focus of 鈥淗omolak鈥檚 anti-transgender community engagement activities.鈥
In the lawsuit, attorneys for Roberson also cite Homolak鈥檚 repeated appearances on numerous talk radio shows, where she allowed the hosts, without correcting them, to embellish on the type of clothing worn by Roberson and to accuse Roberson, falsely, of being a pedophile 鈥 evidence of her 鈥渨illful and reckless disregard for the truth.鈥
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And Grace Church, the suit says, helped Homolak and others build a 鈥渃ampaign鈥 targeting Roberson.
The suit says Roberson has suffered anxiety, humiliation, loss of sleep, mental anguish and more from being targeted by Homolak and the others.
None of the defendants could be reached for comment.
Library officials have repeatedly defended Roberson, saying that all library employees adhere to the district鈥檚 gender-neutral dress code, which requires business casual attire at work.
The lawsuit is the latest chapter in a yearlong saga that turned the popular library district into a culture-war epicenter. It started last spring, when Homolak went to the Kathryn Linnemann Library Branch in St. Charles with one of her children and saw Roberson working in the children鈥檚 section.
鈥極nly publicly tolerated in adult settings鈥
Roberson, who uses she or they pronouns, wears a combination of traditionally masculine and feminine clothing, makeup and natural facial hair.
That day last spring, she was seated behind a desk and did not interact with Homolak or her child, the suit says.
In the weeks and months that followed, Homolak made numerous 鈥渕isstated and exaggerated鈥 claims about Roberson鈥檚 appearance that were repeated and embellished, the suit says, falsely claiming that Roberson was dressed in 鈥渄rag,鈥 fishnet stockings, a corset and high heels at the library.
In those weeks, neither Homolak nor any other person publicly showed photographic evidence at library board meetings of Roberson鈥檚 attire that day.
鈥淭his attire is really only publicly tolerated in adult settings such as nightclubs and strip joints,鈥 Homolak said during a June 2023 library board meeting, which was attended by more than 350 people.
Roberson鈥檚 attorneys, Madeline Johnson and Alexis Pearson, say their client began to fear for her life and physical safety. The library administration offered her paid time off and changed her duties so she no longer worked near the branch鈥檚 front entrance.
The suit details months of social media posts, church communications, public statements and radio appearances in which the defendants, primarily Homolak, described Roberson鈥檚 appearance as designed to groom, indoctrinate, push her sexual identity on children and act in a sexually explicit way around them. They and others accused her of working at the library for that purpose and being a pedophile, the suit says.
Concerns grew when Homolak publicly identified Roberson on social media with a moniker of 鈥淒anny the Drag Queen鈥 and encouraged people to visit the library to see Danny when she was at work, the suit says. Then, in late July, a social media post was made that showed Roberson鈥檚 upcoming work schedule.
These unfounded accusations put Roberson in danger, the suit says, and motivated a man to visit the library last month and ask to talk to the 鈥済uy who works in the children鈥檚 section in drag,鈥 saying he wanted to verbally instigate a fight with Roberson so he could then 鈥減unch (Roberson) in the face.鈥
The man, who is not identified in court documents, was intercepted by a library staff member. Roberson had been scheduled to work that day but had called in sick.
Grace Church 鈥榓ided鈥 accusations
Church leaders at Grace Church STL, a nondenominational conservative church based in Maryland Heights, pushed the effort against Roberson, the suit says. In sermons and panel discussions and blog posts, church leaders encouraged congregants to speak out against Roberson and publicly confront people they believed to be sinners, saying 鈥渟ilence is violence.鈥
The church leadership 鈥渟anctioned, supported, aided and abetted Homolak in the dissemination of her accusations,鈥 according to the lawsuit. Both Homolak and defendant Jane Puszkar, a member of the Francis Howell School Board, have attended services at the church, the suit says.
Puszkar, the suit says, accused Roberson at a public library board meeting of sexual misconduct and working at the library to 鈥済ain access to children for sexual purposes.鈥 Puszkar鈥檚 comments and actions were made as a private citizen with 鈥渋ntentional, malicious conduct toward (Roberson), which was intended to harm (Roberson) as a transgender person,鈥 the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also names St. Charles resident Vanessa Hagedorn and Chris Barrett, who addressed the county council as a representative of the organization known as 鈥淕ays Against Groomers,鈥 a politically far-right organization that has been labeled as extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Another person, only identified as 鈥淛W鈥 is also included as a defendant.
In total, the lawsuit says Homolak defamed Roberson 19 times since May 2023, and that she, Puszkar and the leaders of Grace Church STL conspired to target Roberson.
Roberson is requesting a jury trial and asking for compensatory damages.
Homolak now resides in Alabama and is at the forefront of a public campaign there involving the library district in Huntsville over allegations of sexually explicit books being in the library鈥檚 collection.