Plagiarizing DEI Superintendent Faces Lawsuit for Retaliating Against Critics

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Dr. Nyah Hamlett finds herself on the receiving end of civil litigation

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Superintendent Dr. Nyah Hamlett is being sued by a father-son duo who say she engaged in "malicious prosecution" by obtaining widely-publicized temporary no-contact orders after an incident at the son's graduation in which he called her a "plagiarizing b****".

Kevin Klosty and his son Hunter say Hamlett's civil proceedings against them were "revenge" for their "criticisms of her and of CHCCS" over issues ranging from COVID-19 lockdown policies to a plagiarism scandal; she ultimately dropped the complaints shortly before the pair would have had their first opportunity to defend themselves against her allegations in court.

Complaint

Although the lawsuit was filed in Orange Superior Court in July (Kevin Klosty VS Nyah Hamlett), the plaintiffs were not able to serve Hamlett with the lawsuit until her appearance at a CHCCS board meeting last Thursday.

The complaint details how the events escalated up to the graduation incident and the civil proceedings, from the Klostys' point of view:

2022: Background and Leadup

"I. Kevin Klosty moves his young family across the country to Chapel Hill to take part in the public school system here. Kevin’s initial faith in the system is rewarded, but CHCSS’ [sic] response to the COVID-19 pandemic creates questions and doubt as his son Hunter questions school system policies."

According to in the complaint, Kevin and his wife were specifically attracted to Chapel Hill nearly two decades ago due to the quality of the CHCCS school system.

The Klosty's issues with CHCCS and Hamlett began in the summer of 2022 when they learned that the district would be requiring masks for Hunter's upcoming senior year, with Hunter and Kevin both writing to the CHCCS board to express their disapproval.

Hunter, who was elected Student Body Vice-President at East Chapel Hill High School (ECHHS), was vocal in criticizing school and district administration both on social media and in person, including regarding a new "E-Hall Pass" at the school, as well as "such issues such as truancy, student fees, and student club funding".

On November 1, Hunter was brought in for a "combative and tense" meeting with school administration, and three days later ECHHS Principal Jesse Casey "asked [him] to tone down his social media rhetoric", according to the complaint.

Kevin continued to contact the CHCCS Board via email regarding decisions he disagreed with, as well as engaging with posts by the board and members of the community on social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/X.

The Plagiarism Scandal

"II. After a published report credibly accuses CHCCS Superintendent Nyah Hamlett of plagiarizing her doctoral dissertation, Kevin and Hunter publicly question Defendant’s ability to lead the school system."

In January 2023, Hunter and Kevin's issues with school administration gained a new focal point when a News & Observer investigation assembled evidence that Hamlett's dissertation for her education doctorate contained "35 examples of nearly word-for-word paragraphs and sentences taken from sources that are sometimes misidentified or, in some cases, not identified at all."

Hunter specifically took public issue with the "hypocrisy"; Hamlett's lack of integrity was inconsistent with the plagiarism standard to which CHCCS students were held.

In addition to social media and email utilized by him and his father, Hunter addressed the CHCCS board during a public comment section at a February meeting, publicly calling out Hamlett for the double standard, as well as "conflicts of interest" related to allegations that Hamlett had hired unlicensed administrators.

The complaint alleges that the school administration failed to enforce the "hate speech and bullying" policy against "online abuse and harassment directed at Hunter", including a "hunter4impeachment" account on Instagram which alluded to contacting Hunter's future college as well as Kevin's employment in order to "let [them] know" about their respective "mistakes" in reference to criticizing the school administration.

The Graduation Incident

"III. Having weathered a tumultuous, draining senior year, Hunter confronts CHCSS [sic] administrators, including Defendant. Defendant publicly humiliates Hunter in front his family, friends, classmates, and their families."

Matters came to a head on June 10, 2023 at ECHHS's annual graduation ceremony. As Hunter prepared to take the stage, while "laboring under the emotional impact" of "hav[ing] his senior year tainted" (as the lawsuit characterizes it), he "turned to an [ECHHS] administrator, one of Defendant’s hires, and told her to 'f*** off.'"

As Hunter proceeded down the graduation line, he took the opportunity of shaking the hand of Principal Casey to let him know that he considered him "a very stupid man".

When Hunter reached Hamlett, she withdrew her hand and denied him the fist bump she had offered to previous students; Hunter responded by calling her a "plagiarizing b****." According to the complaint, "Hunter regrets allowing his emotions to get the best of him on graduation day and for profanely addressing CHCCS administrators and Defendant."

Hamlett began her short commencement remarks with a jibe transparently directed at the Klostys, that she would "give one of your classmates and their family what they want".

"When you struggle with treating people with dignity and respect, trust and believe it says a lot more about you than it ever will about the people that you're attempting to tear down," she said, before continuing with a quip about "citation errors" in reference to a quotation along the same lines.

Kevin was "offended by Defendant’s remarks", according to the complaint, and attempted to approach Hamlett after the ceremony.

According to an informational report filed by the UNC Police at the request of Hamlett, Kevin "stopped within 5 feet of Dr. Hamlett" before he "pointed his finger at her and said 'The investigation is going begin.' [sic]".

The report also notes that "CHCCS staff" requested that Hunter be removed from the ceremony, but the police declined to do so given that "no crime had occurred" and to do so would involve a "substantial interuption [sic]", before concluding that: "At no point during the interactions at the Smith Center did Hunter or Kevin Klosty exhibit any criminal behavior".

The No-Contact Orders

"IV. Defendant turns to the courts to retaliate against Kevin and Hunter for their speech and initially gets the censorship relief she desires before dismissing her claims against the father and son without prejudice."

Five days later on June 15th, school administration, including Casey and Hamlett, held a meeting to discuss "the incident".

Minutes of the meeting show that the participants considered what "consequences" could be imposed on Hunter post-graduation, including potentially "retracting[ing] college recommendations".

The meeting concluded that a "no trespass" order would be "[held] for now", as Hunter "[hadn't] done anything to the Principal or on school property; just name calling and false statements on social media", but that a "no contact order may help".

The next day, Hamlett did indeed file complaints in the Orange County District Court requesting no-contact orders against Kevin and Hunter. Although she referenced emails and social media posts as "harassment", as well as Kevin "smirk[ing]" at her, she provided no evidence as to any threats made by either of the two.

Based on her sworn statements, Hamlett received temporary no-contact orders forbidding the pair from contacting her, posting about her on social media, or setting foot on any CHCCS property.

The orders were issued on an ex-parte basis, meaning that Kevin and Hunter had no opportunity to defend themselves or refute the allegations before the orders were issued.

When Kevin headed down to the courthouse after receiving the notice, he found that the judge presiding over the case was none other than Judge Joan Broun, who was on the CHCCS Board when the decision was made to hire Hamlett. After Broun recused herself, Judge Samantha Cabe sent an email alerting the parties that "while only one of our judges has an actual conflict in hearing the issues in this case, all hearings in this matter will be assigned to one of our judges who resides in Chatham County due to plaintiff's position as a public official in Orange County".

Just before the first in-person hearing at which Hunter and Kevin would have had the chance to present evidence and argue against the orders, Hamlett voluntarily dismissed the complaints "without prejudice", meaning they could be refiled in the future.

Malicious Prosecution

The complaint includes a single claim for relief, alleging that Hamlett filed the complaints "out of a motive of ill will, spite, grudge, revenge, and oppression for Plaintiffs' criticisms of her and of CHCCS" despite the fact that "there were no facts or circumstances known to [her] under which a reasonable person would believe that such proceedings were justified".

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Plagiarism Facts & Response

The evidence that Hamlett committed extensive plagiarism in her doctoral dissertation, as presented in the N&O investigation, goes far beyond the "placement of some citations and some word choices to summarize or synthesize information" which Hamlett admitted she could have "done differently".

In the most egregious instance, Hamlett not only copied six sentences from the conclusions of a U.S. Surgeon General's report "nearly word-for-word" without quotation marks, she inserted five false references among the duplicated phrases, diverting attention from their true origin.

Hamlett obtained her doctorate of education from the College of William & Mary; though known as "one of the oldest and most prestigious public campuses in the country" the school has in recent years adopted measures such as a "Task Force on Race and Relations" and an independent "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" (DEI) assessment.

The evidence of plagiarism, as well as the response by Hamlett, the CHCCS Board, and the community evoke of a nationwide pattern reported on by journalists like

Christopher Brunet

involving woke/DEI oriented academics across the country. (The dissertation in question involves "Social Emotional Learning,” which has been described as "neo-Communist brainwashing to induce critical consciousness on your kids and to bring them into the Woke cult" by anti-communist activist James Lindsay).

Hamlett attempted to get ahead of the plagiarism story, sending out an email to "CHCCS students, families, and staff" between being contacted by the reporter and the article's release. In it, while acknowledging potential errors in "citations" and "word choices", she unequivocally claimed that her "sourcing and citations provided proper credit and accurately reflected the research that contributed to my final product" (emphasis in the original).

The CHCCS Board, which cited Hamlett's "focus on equity" when hiring her in 2020, circled the wagons around her as well, with board chair Rani Dasi attacking the local media's decision to cover the story in a statement released in support.

In addition, a community group calling itself "Chapel Hill Organized Against Racism" obtained over 700 signatures for a letter defending Hamlett as a "Black leader" who was "experiencing the same disrespect, low expectations, and suspicions that Black students have experienced for decades."

The Loudoun County Parallel

Less than a year after leaving her position as Chief of Staff for Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia to take the position at CHCCS, her former employer was embroiled in a national scandal after it was revealed that they were attempting to cover-up the rape of at least two female students by a skirt-wearing male student.

Although Hamlett had already left for North Carolina, the incidents bear an eerie parallel, as the father of one of the victims was arrested for disorderly conduct while attempting to bring his daughter's abuse to light at a school board meeting. The father was eventually pardoned by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

According to documents shared by Kevin Klosty, CHCCS administration had filed police reports prior to the graduation incident with both the Carrboro and Chapel Hill Police Departments over the numerous critical emails he had sent to the official addresses of school officials and CHCCS board members.

The incident report with the Carrboro Police notes that "there is no criminal violation at this time"; although the copy of the report from the Chapel Hill Police did not contain a similar explicit resolution, it is clear that it did not result in Kevin's arrest or prosecution.

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Hamlett did not respond to a request for comment.

The Klostys are represented in this suit by James R. Lawrence, III of Envisage Law.