alison westover (morrow) v WA department of natural resources

On October 14, 2024, Silent Majority Foundation filed a lawsuit against the State of Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and executive level DNR employees, on behalf of award-winning journalist, Alison Westover (formerly Alison Morrow) for Alison’s wrongful termination stemming from Alison posting an interview with Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, MD on her personal YouTube channel, which she made on her own time with her own resources.

Prior to joining DNR, Alison served as Environmental Reporter for KING 5 in Seattle, where she worked from 2013 until 2019, winning two Emmy awards during her tenure. While at KING 5, Alison created a YouTube channel to share her skills as an independent journalist. DNR subsequently hired Alison as a communications specialist with full knowledge of her YouTube channel and independent journalistic work. DNR encouraged this independent work until Alison covered Dr. Kheriaty and his opinions on COVID-19. After Dr. Kheriaty’s appearance on Alison’s YouTube channel, DNR leadership told Alison if she continued with the interviews, they would fire her. Alison explained her 1st Amendment rights to continue the work, which was done in her personal time and with her personal equipment and refused to comply.

Alison ultimately decided that her first amendment rights to associate freely, right to freedom of the press, and her right to speak freely on matters of public concern was too important, and she refused DNR’s demand to use approved narratives. DNR terminated Alison’s employment, and she sought help from the Silent Majority Foundation.

"The 1st Amendment is one of the most sacred rights of Americans. It is what differentiates our country from most others, that we have the freedom to question our government. It is also central to a free press. I was willing to lose my job - and all that it provided for our family - in order to stand up against the encroaching erosion of this right that I was witnessing at the time, not just in my case but in thousands of others across the country during the pandemic," Alison said. "There was no way to do science, or journalism, in the culture of censorship that was driven by our government at the time. That meant millions of people made decisions without informed consent. Given my commitment to seeking truth wherever it leads, I was unwilling to acquiesce to a

demand that I remain silent." - Alison Morrow Westover

We encourage you to closely follow this case as it addresses several critical elements of the First Amendment of the US Constitution that require vigorous defense by organizations like SMF. Our defense of these rights is extremely critical and necessary, especially when the government is trampling the rights of We the People.



UPDATE: On 01/13/2025, we received a response to our Complaint from DNR. This case is now in Discovery.  We will continue to keep you updated.