Press Release: Lawsuit against Bonneville County Republicans Dismissed With Prejudice, Court Order Vacated

The following press release was sent out by the Bonneville County Republican Party, via their Facebook page. Press releases do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch. 

The Bonneville County Republican Central Committee (BCRCC) is pleased to announce that the unprecedented lawsuit filed by former Idaho Republican Party Chairman Tom Luna against the BCRCC & several of its volunteers has been settled by dismissal with prejudice of all claims made by plaintiffs in the case.
The BCRCC is also thrilled to announce that the preliminary injunction/restraining order issued by a visiting judge to the Court has been entirely vacated and nullified. This order wrongfully restricted the Bonneville County Republican Party’s right to communicate with republican voters on the eve of the Republican Party’s own primary nomination. The vacation of this order reinforces the great value and importance of freedom of speech, as well as the Republican Party Organization’s role in preserving the principles upon which it is founded.
The dismissal of this suit and the subsequent vacation of the Court’s preliminary injunction follows a recent resolution from the Idaho Republican Party Delegates, which directed the Idaho Republican Party’s Executive Committee to dismiss with prejudice the lawsuit against the Bonneville County Republican Party. The resolution directing dismissal of the suit was passed overwhelmingly by the delegates at the Idaho Republican Convention.
Former Chairman Tom Luna filed suit against the BCRCC and the 10 individual volunteers on its Executive Committee on May 12, 2022– just 4 days before the republican primary nomination. He admittedly did so without consulting any other members of the State Party’s Executive Committee. At the Idaho Republican Convention held just two months later, Luna was defeated overwhelmingly in his bid for reelection as Party Chair. The victor, Dorothy Moon, won the race with 434 votes to Luna’s 287. At the same convention, Bonneville County’s own Mark Fuller was also overwhelmingly elected to the State Party’s Executive Committee as 2nd Vice Chair.
This lawsuit quickly became one of the most divisive wedges in the Idaho Republican Party. It negatively affected the Party’s ability to promote its platform and the principles found therein. It restricted the Party’s right to freedom of speech. It also had a detrimental effect on the lives of several of the volunteers who were personally named as defendants in the suit. It was a bully tactic intended to publicly intimidate and silence the local Republican Party and its volunteers. The BCRCC is very grateful to see this divisive lawsuit and its claims dismissed.
The BCRCC is excited for the future of the Republican Party, both in Bonneville County and all across Idaho. We look forward with eagerness to the many wonderful things we will accomplish as we continue to advance the principles of the Republican Party.
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