Maine conservative activist Shawn McBreairty dead at 53

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A conservative activist from Hampden who has been embroiled in multiple lawsuits with local school departments in Maine died Monday.

Shawn McBreairty, 53, died by suicide, according to a former Hermon School Committee member who received confirmation of the death on Monday from a Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Hundreds of condolence messages were posted on the Facebook page of Patti McBreairty, his wife. He is also survived by twin daughters.

McBreairty had a lengthy history of accusing Maine school districts , state agencies, teachers and others of indoctrinating students and teaching critical race theory. He has also complained about books in school libraries and teacher reading lists that highlighted books by LGBTQ+ authors and authors of color.

In recent years, McBreairty was involved in legal disputes with the Brewer School Department, Hermon School Department and Regional School Unit 22 in Hampden.

The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation.

McBreairty’s attorney, Marc Randazza, declined to comment. His other attorney, Brett Baber, had no comment, according to his receptionist. A call to McBreairty’s cellphone was answered by someone who identified themselves as a family member but declined to comment.

Most recently, McBreairty filed a lawsuit on Feb. 22, 2024, against Brewer High School Superintendent Gregg Palmer, Brewer High School Principal Brent Slowikowski and Michelle MacDonald, an English teacher at the school.

In the suit, he argued Brewer High School students should be allowed to petition the school to reverse its transgender bathroom policy, which allows students to use the bathroom and locker room that corresponds with their gender identity.

It is too soon to say how McBreairty’s death will affect the lawsuit, Brewer attorney Melissa Hewey said Wednesday. She said his family needs time and expressed condolences.

McBreairty successfully sued RSU 22 in 2022 after the school board banned him from its meetings , then sued the board again in March 2023 alleging that his right to free speech again had been limited.

He claimed he wasn’t allowed to speak during the public comment portion of RSU 22 school board meetings on Feb. 15 and March 15, 2023. RSU 22 includes Hampden, Newburgh, Winterport and Frankfort.

McBreairty settled another lawsuit with RSU 22 for $40,000 in 2022 after a federal judge ruled that the school board could not ban him from its meetings. That lawsuit came after he refused to stop playing a recording the district considered obscene at an April 2022 meeting.

Since 2021, McBreairty has appeared on multiple conservative talk shows including Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Faulkner Focus, Sky News Australia, The Ingraham Angle and Fox & Friends.