GOP lawmaker falsely accused drag queens of pedophilia. Now he has to pay $200K.

A Republican state representative in New Hampshire has been ordered to pay two drag queens he defamed $100,000 each and publicly apologize for calling them pedophiles.

State Rep. David Love (R) settled with the drag queens, Robert Champion and Michael McMahon, after a two-year court fight following Love’s accusation that both men had inappropriate relationships with children.

Related:

Rightwing influencer forced to pay $1.1 million to Black drag queen she lied about

The drag queen had “no choice” but to sue after the death threats started.

As part of the settlement, Love was forced to admit that his claims were “completely false.”

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The plaintiffs filed suit after Love made the accusations in February 2022 while introducing a bill that would mandate library employees and volunteers obtain criminal background checks. Both Champion and McMahon had participated in drag queen story hours.

Love accused Champion, who appeared as Monique Toosoon in a story time event in Nashua in 2019, of being a “convicted sex offender.” The lawmaker also accused McMahon, as Clara Divine, of “rubbing butts” with children and “just really going way too far” at another event in Derry in 2021.

Love repeated the false accusations over the objections of Champion and McMahon, local officials, and community members who challenged him over the spurious claims.

Last week, Champion and McMahon secured the $200,000 settlement and a public retraction from Love, the Manchester Ink Link reported.

Love shared his apology on social media.

“After being provided with inaccurate information, information that I failed to verify, I publicly accused Robert Champion aka Monique Toosoon of being a registered sex offender and Michael McMahon aka Clara Divine of ‘rubbing butts’ with children,” the state rep posted in his retraction. “I have since learned that those assertions were completely false.”

“I wish to publicly retract those statements and apologize to Robert and Michael. I have agreed to monetary judgment against me for $100,000 for Robert and Michael each.”

Following the settlement, Champion told The Washington Post: “When you say things that are that damaging or harmful about someone, they’re not going to just sit there and let it happen.”

“Who knows what will happen with the political climate with drag queens right now?” Champion said.

McMahon told NBC Boston: “I don’t want people to look at something online about me that’s untrue and believe it, then not cast me for further story times or the children’s activities stuff, because I really like to educate the younger generation on what drag is.”

“I just want this to stand as a message for other people to not do this sort of thing, to not lie.”

Champion and McMahon’s win follows other successful defamation lawsuits addressing drag queens accused of sex crimes against children.

In May, a jury awarded Idaho drag performer Eric Posey more than $1.1 million in damages after a right-wing influencer falsely accused him of “flashing his genitalia” at children. In January, a judge in the U.K. ordered a conservative commentator to pay Drag Race UK queen Colin Seymour, aka Crystal, $200,000 after falsely calling him a pedophile.

Love’s library bill in the New Hampshire House failed to leave committee and was unanimously deemed “inexpedient to legislate,” according to state records.

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