Popular Christian Right group actually attempted to launch a coup in 2004

[ck4829]

If successful, this would have allowed the 'christian' Right control over the schools. And apparently they are not about violence and lies to see it get done.

"In November 2004 the ADF sponsored a lawsuit of a Cupertino, California elementary school teacher against his school principal and school board members. On Wednesday November 24, the day before Thanksgiving, the ADF issued a press release entitled "Declaration of Independence Banned from Classroom", a title that caused considerable controversy, and some outrage, among listeners to various news outlets, predominently broadcast by ones right-of-center in United States politics.

Later in the ADF lawsuit,(Williams v. Vidmar) all parties (including the ADF) affirmed that the school policy in no way mentioned the Declaration of Independence, and no materials were "banned" from any classroom.

The wording of the press release included text which asserted the school district sought to "erase God" from the classroom. Not surprisingly, this phrasing generated a substantial amount of press coverage in the conservative media over the holiday weekend. The story was picked up by Reuters and Fox News which rebroadcast the news of a ban on at least seven occasions and dispatched the Hannity and Colmes show to Cupertino for a special episode featuring the teacher. Bloggers, pundits, and especially talk radio shows across the nation picked up the story en mass, especially as it broke over the Thansgiving holiday, a time traditionally associated with Pilgrims and patriotism. The timing of the press release had also ensured, intentionally or not, that the school district would be unable to respond for at least four days as it was shut down for the holiday.

The ADF has made no corrections to its original press release. Threats against the elementary school and its principal caused the sheriff's department to put extra patrols on duty and the school had to hire additional security personnel for the remainder of the year.

In August 2005, Williams and the ADF dropped the lawsuit, choosing to settle out of court. Per the official statement agreed to by both parties, no change was necessary to school policy and no payment required between the parties. Several days later Williams resigned from the school district and left the state. Patricia Vidmar, a target in the original suit, continued in her position as Principal of Stevens Creek Elementary with strong support of parents, teachers, and the local community. $50,000 of local taxpayers money was wasted and the suit proved meritless, causing the parents organization to question if their school was just the unfortunate victim of a public relations exercise. The parents group questioned ADF's motives:

"The ADF is morally obligated to be proactive when issuing a correction of the record and they must give it the same wide publicity to ensure the same coverage given the original, factually inaccurate and devastating press release. Otherwise, they’re just paying lip service to their claim of concern for the safety of our children." "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_Defense_Fund#ADF_ethics_questioned