The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) is an organization that, supposedly, was founded to promote student achievement. Their purpose statement on their website:
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Phi Theta Kappa’s nonprofit mission is to recognize and promote student academic achievement. PTK provides opportunities to cultivate professional and leadership skills, secure scholarships, explore diverse career paths, and build a network of supportive peers and trusted advisors that last a lifetime.
But that shiny statement of high principle is just a veneer. Here’s why.
In 2014, Army veteran Toni Marek, a volunteer with PTK, was allegedly sexually assaulted by PTK’s Executive Director, Dr. Rod Risley. She reported the assault, as any rational person would. This was the beginning of a cascade of intimidation and recrimination that has now led to legal proceedings.
Toni Marek was a volunteer with PTK when the assault occurred. She looked into filing an EEOC case; that effort was unsuccessful because she was a volunteer, not an employee, which seems like an oversight in the EEOC program. Dr. Risley, while this was going on, retired and rode away into a golden sunset. But Toni Marek was looking into PTK’s history and found that the organization had a history of intimidation and a penchant for committing lawfare on anyone who criticized the organization.
That’s when she started on her book, “Saving PTK: The Whistleblower’s Fight for Truth and Change.” But that book was about to run afoul of PTK’s lawfare efforts.
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On March 26 of this year, PTK was awarded an ex parte decision. Toni Marek wasn’t notified of the case, nor was she allowed to have any input in the case. The publication of her book was blocked by the order. Worse was the timing; her book had been scheduled to release at the same time as PTK’s annual convention, which would have been a powerful moment indeed for Toni’s book.
Enter attorney Marc Randazza. On April 4, Mr. Randazza and Toni Marek filed a motion to dismiss in opposition to the injunction. On April 21, they filed a motion for costs, fees, and sanctions under the Texas Citizens’ Participation Act. Toni Marek stated:
PTK didn’t just sue me—they lied to a judge, got a gag order without telling me, and stopped my book from launching. They used the courts to muzzle a survivor. That’s not just immoral—it’s unlawful.
The motion to dismiss PTK’s suit is a masterpiece of rhetoric; that document states in part:
In this case, Ms. Marek was writing a book that exposed how PTK swept sexual assault and sexual harassment claims under the rug and was not abiding by its stated goal of serving students. The book contained information that PTK would rather the public not know. So, it sued her, asserting a claim for declaratory as a censorship tool. PTK sought a constitutionally offensive temporary injunction prohibiting Marek’s book from being published. The sole purposes of the suit were to stop Ms. Marek’s speech, prevent her from publishing her book, and take editorial control of the book. This is intolerable under the U.S. and Texas Constitutions, and this Court should dismiss this suit pursuant to the TCPA, which applies because Plaintiffs’ lawsuit “is based on or is in response to” Ms. Marek’s speech concerning PTK and actions of the people that run it.
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The case is still ongoing.
There is also a First Amendment issue here, as noted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
The First Amendment prohibits prior restraints in all but the most extreme circumstances. In 1971, the Supreme Court even rebuffed the government’s attempt to stop the press from publishing the Pentagon Papers, documents the government claimed contained state secrets that could harm national security.
The Court has also repeatedly affirmed the First Amendment right to publish lawfully obtained, truthful information on matters of public concern.
Toni Marek’s case is a litany of malfeasance on the part of PTK. To cover up a sexual assault perpetrated by a senior official, they engaged in a constitutionally fraught lawsuit in what appears to be an attempt to run out the clock, to drain her financial resources, and to shut her up.
They didn’t count on Toni Marek, her attorney, Marc Randazza, or the state of Texas’s Citizens’ Participation Act.
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This is a pretty blatant case of intimidation, of lawfare, of shady legal practices, and of an attempt to silence a legitimate whistleblower. PTK and Dr. Risley should be held liable. It’s starting to look like they will be.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
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