How a Man Once Ordered to Pay Libel Damages Helped Launch an Investigation Into Islamic Private Schools

ProPublica reports that the Texas Comptroller's office investigating Islamic private schools for a new voucher program relied heavily on allegations from Sam Westrop—a man previously ordered to pay more than one hundred seventy-three thousand dollars in libel damages for falsely accusing someone of terrorism. The state investigated nearly 50 schools based partly on Westrop's claims and initially kept four of them out of the voucher program. Deposition records later revealed that officials never fact-checked Westrop or discovered his prior defamation judgment before acting on his allegations. The schools were eventually admitted to the program, but are now pursuing a class-action lawsuit to prevent future discrimination against certain private schools.

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