Defamation suits between NAACP leaders dismissed

County president, member want issue handled internally

Dueling lawsuits between leaders of Anne Arundel County’s NAACP chapter, including its president, have been dismissed amid a desire by the nation’s oldest civil rights body to handle the matter internally.

Court records show contending defamation cases between the Rev.

Rickey Nelson Jones, the chapter president, and the Rev. Marguerite Morris, a member, were closed after both parties filed motions for voluntary dismissal in late March.

Though an initial trial date was complicated by a procedural misunderstanding — Baltimore County District Judge Norman Stone III consolidated and rescheduled the cases in February after realizing a larger countersuit had been filed — Morris’ complaint and Jones’ subsequent counterclaim were set to be adjudicated Tuesday.

The dispute stems from an October petition organized by Morris and other NAACP members to unseat Jones from his position atop the chapter. The petition accused Jones of making homophobic and sexist statements in both his written works and personal interactions with members.

In addition to a 2005 book by Jones, which referred to same sex-relationships as “an abomination to God,” members said Jones’ religious teachings had impacted his exchanges with both women and LGBTQ+ activists within the organization. When they attempted to bring the issue to Jones’ attention, they said he didn’t take the complaints seriously.

Responding to The Capital in October, Jones said it was “an absurd idea” that he hated the LGBTQ+ community, though he doesn’t “agree with the homosexual lifestyle,” and that his decades-long marriage and leadership of his Columbia-based church

invalidate any accusations regarding sexism.

Morris’ defamation lawsuit specifically took issue with Jones’ public response to the petition. She claimed the president had singled out and slandered her and invited other members to “condemn” her as a liar at an upcoming meeting.

In his suit, Jones asserted he was immune from a defamation ruling because he was defending himself from

Morris’ own defamatory comments.

Both parties’ decision to dismiss their claims resulted from requests by and the rules of the national civil rights organization, court records show.

According to the NAACP Constitution, a member “who commences any external action” against another member, including civil litigation, “shall have his or her membership automatically revoked.”

In her dismissal filing last month, Morris, a civil rights leader and former pastor from Odenton whose activism has centered in part around questions relating to the death of her daughter Katherine, wrote that she was “unaware” of organizational regulations prohibiting civil action against another member.

She wrote that her withdrawal of her suit was not “because of any believed innocence” on the part of Jones or his co-defendant, fellow member Larry Diggs, “but because this is a matter that should be handled internally.”

“I have no problem with them handling it,” Morris said of the national organization. “But my expectation is that national will now do something about the dulyfiled petition.”

In his filing, Jones wrote that while waiting for Tuesday’s trial, the parent NAACP organization “formally requested” he dismiss his counterclaim and said, “as a key officer … with deep respect for the organization,” he would “honor the request.”

In a statement to The Capital, Jones said he was “supremely confident” that his counterclaim would have proven successful had it proceeded, noting affidavits from two local NAACP executive committee members refuting Morris’ allegations.

Morris said she had “at least ten witnesses” of her own, including other executive committee members, who would have testified on her behalf. She said she believed she would have been “supremely victorious in the courtroom.”

When contacted by phone, Diggs said he was “glad” the case was over, calling the charge against him “bogus” and saying, “The issues go deeper than just a court case.” Diggs was accused of slandering Morris during an Anne Arundel NAACP meeting soon after the ouster petition was made public.

The decision to dismiss the cases puts both parties’ complaints back within the jurisdiction of the civil rights group. Morris said she believes the NAACP will consider the issue in its entirety, including the October petition, which she and Jones said will be reviewed.

Representatives from the NAACP did not answer multiple emails with questions regarding membership, regulations on outside lawsuits and petitions.