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July 27, 2023

VIA-EMAIL AND FEDEX

Dr. Nyah Hamlett

750 S. Merritt Mill Rd.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
superintendent@chccs.k12.nc.us

RE: Nyah Hamlett v. Hunter Klosty, Case No. 23 CVD 000663 (Orange Cnty. Dist. Ct.)
Nyah Hamlett v. Kevin Klosty, Case No. 23 CVD 000662 (Orange Cnty. Dist. Ct.)

Dear Dr. Hamlett:

We represent East Chapel Hill High School graduate and former Student Body Vice
President Hunter Klosty and his father Kevin Klosty. We are writing to ask you to immediately
cease your effort to use our State’s courts to silence Hunter and Kevin’s speech and to do lasting
damage to their rights and reputations.

I. Factual Background and Procedural History

A. Hunter Klosty, Kevin Klosty, and East Chapel Hill High School

Hunter Klosty is an eighteen-year-old graduate of East Chapel Hill High School. While at
ECHHS, Hunter had a distinguished academic and extracurricular career. In 2022, Hunter’s
peers elected him to the office of Student Body Vice President. Hunter campaigned on
improving the student experience at ECHHS, views anchored in his deep conviction that our
State’s public schools exist to serve children and families. In the fall, Hunter will attend our
State’s flagship liberal arts institution, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he
plans to study economics.

Kevin Klosty is the proud father of two children. More than a decade ago, Kevin
relocated his young family to the Chapel Hill area so that his children could attend CHCCS
schools. The Klosty children’s experience in elementary and middle school confirmed to Kevin
that he made the right choice as he watched his children excel academically and socially. During
that time period, Kevin has no recollection of ever complaining about CHCCS schools. Instead,
Kevin focused primarily on providing for his family and caring for his wife and children.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Governor Roy Cooper’s decision to shut
down our State’s schools had an immediate, negative effect on the Klosty family. Kevin looked
on as his children tried to do distance learning, entirely isolated from their friends and social
networks. That was bad enough, but to compound the lack of equity, Kevin also noticed that
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July 27, 2023
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while many workers lost jobs or were furloughed during the pandemic, taxpayer coffers
remained open to CHCCS.

When our State’s public schools finally started re-opening, Kevin looked on as CHCCS
kept mask mandates in place, forcing his children and others to breathe through cloth, even after
many schools had already lifted this requirement. By September 2022, Kevin had had enough.
On September 8, 2022, Kevin wrote an e-mail to the CHCCS Board, demanding the Board
reconsider the mask mandate, noting “[t]hey have taken away mask regulations on planes, [and]
on the New York subway.” After Kevin’s repeated follow-up e-mails, you responded on
September 15, directing him to the Board’s Communication Protocol. Your e-mail is shown
below. Relevant here, while you said CHCCS “inform[s] our employees that they are not
required to respond to written or verbal attacks, name calling, etc.,” you did not assert that Kevin
did so.

B. Your Work at CHCCS and Hunter and Kevin Klosty’s Criticism of Your
Performance and CHCCS

On January 1, 2021, you started work as Superintendent of CHCCS, having previously

served in various positions in Virginia. According to a report in the Raleigh News and Observer,
your starting annual salary was $226,000, which has since increased to $251,891, and you have a
$250 per month expense account. Dan Kane, Chapel Hill schools superintendent’s dissertation
draws plagiarism concerns, News & Observer, Jan. 12, 2023,
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article269953092.html. Taxpayers have
been generous to you. In this role, your annual salary is far more than our State’s Governor or
any of the Justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Your starting salary was more than 3.7
times the median household income in North Carolina at that time. QuickFacts North Carolina,
U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NC/PST045222.

Given the superintendent position and the pay and benefits, your role comes with great
responsibility and corresponding scrutiny. You have previously acknowledged and even
welcomed this in messages posted through your official Twitter account. On January 26, 2023,
you proclaimed that “[o]ur students are fierce,” “[o]ur students are engaged,” and that “[o]ur
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July 27, 2023
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students are social justice action warriors.” SupHERintendent Hamlett (@NyahHamlett), Twitter
(Jan. 26, 2023, 7:55 AM), https://twitter.com/nyahhamlett/status/1618593415247331330. “They
advocate for what is just, right, and good for ALL students. They hold their principals, district
leadership, me, the BOE, and state legislators accountable. So proud!” Id. (emphasis added). In
2021, nearly six months into your tenure, you set the bar for accountability. “I’m excited to build
a team that’s ready to set and model high expectations for self and others,” you wrote, “commit
to and model shared accountability, uphold integrity and equity in all that we do.”
SupHERintendent Hamlett (@NyahHamlett), Twitter (Jan. 26, 2023, 7:55 AM),
https://twitter.com/nyahhamlett/status/1398987727077527554 .

You have extended similar invitations to parents. As shown below, On March 20, 2023,
in a tweet headlined by a fist bump emoji, you urged parents to “[n]ever allow your position or
the position or perceptions of others to compromise your beliefs and core values. When people
and systems prevent you from protecting children, especially your own, you must remain in the
fight unbowed.”

SupHERintendent Hamlett (@NyahHamlett), Twitter (Mar. 20, 2023, 7:49 AM),

https://twitter.com/nyahhamlett/status/1637783359668592641.

In January 2023, the News and Observer ran a lengthy article regarding your doctoral
dissertation. Dan Kane, the award-winning investigative journalist who broke the story, reported
that your dissertation “contains roughly 35 examples of nearly word-for-word paragraphs and
sentences taken from sources that are sometimes misidentified or, in some cases, not identified at
all.” Kane, supra. The report contains graphics comparing your dissertation to source material.
Id. The tension between this report and CHCCS’ code of conduct was obvious to everyone. To
our knowledge, you have never provided a substantive response to Mr. Kane’s reporting.

Just prior to the News and Observer story breaking, Kevin was encountering further
difficulties with CHCCS. On December 29, 2022, his first direct communication to CHCCS
since September 2022, Kevin wrote to the CHCCS Board to complain that the system scheduled
the first day of schools to coincide with a public transportation holiday. He similarly took to
social media, complaining, among other things, that “[a]ny school district run by anyone with
half a brain would have made the first day the 3rd. This district is an embarrassment.” After the
plagiarism story ran, Kevin repeatedly criticized you on social media and e-mailed his concerns
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July 27, 2023
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to the Board. At no point did you or anyone else at CHCCS inform Kevin that he was engaged in
harassment or illegal conduct.

On February 14, 2023, eighteen-year-old Hunter, a high school senior, addressed the
adults on the CHCCS Board during a public meeting. During his speech, Hunter criticized
CHCCS and brought up the plagiarism report, citing “hypocrisy,” “moral corruption,” and
“conflicts of interest” within the school district. Hunter spoke passionately but respectfully from
behind the podium. At no point did he threaten or harass anyone. In fact, CHCCS Board member
Ashton Powell thanked Hunter for sharing his concerns. “Thank you, Hunter, for coming and
speaking, I hope we see more of you,” Dr. Powell said just after the speech. At the time, no one
at the meeting, you included, accused Hunter or Kevin of harassing you or anyone else.

Hunter and Kevin paid a personal and professional price for speaking out. For refusing to
compromise their core values and convictions, for standing “unbowed” to use your words, an
online brigade formed to punish Hunter and Kevin for wrongspeak. False accusations of racism
spread on social media. A social media user posted Kevin’s work information online, a form of
doxing, for the apparent purpose of interfering with his ability to provide for his family. The
brigade also targeted Kevin’s daughter.

C. The ECHHS Graduation Ceremony

ECHHS held its graduation on June 10, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill. No one
at ECHHS or CHCCS, you included, objected to Kevin or Hunter being present at the ceremony.
At the ceremony Hunter waited patiently alongside his classmates to stride across the stage to
collect his diploma. Given how he had been treated, Hunter was ready to close the chapter on his
high school career, but not before speaking out one last time.

As one of his classmates walked in front of him, Hunter greeted two CHCCS
administrators by encouraging them to get better jobs. Hunter next told Jeriel Champion to “f***
off.” We do not believe you heard this, and it is nowhere mentioned in your complaint against
Hunter. ECHHS Principal Jesse Casey gave Hunter a dirty look, and our client called him “a
very stupid man,” before shaking his hand. Hunter shared a fist bump with another CHCCS
administrator before approaching you.

Fist bumps are symbols of unity and honor. One dictionary defines a “fist bump” as “a
gesture . . . in greeting or celebration.” Fist Bump, Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fist%20bump (last visited July 27, 2023). You are
well aware of the symbolic power of the fist bump. As shown below, in your narrative on
CHCCS’ strategic plan, you are pictured twice extending fist bumps to students, including on the
report cover. CHCCS, Superintendent’s Vision and Strategic Narrative, June 2022,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FI6Kt9bLzxKIBl0a6ESwI9mlcNKpGEod/view.
Dr. Nyah Hamlett
July 27, 2023
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In June 2022, you boasted of giving “approximately 975 fist bumps” to the various members of
the class of 2022. SupHERintendent Hamlett (@NyahHamlett), Twitter (June 11, 2022 7:55
AM), https://twitter.com/nyahhamlett/status/1535793514985971712.

You extended a fist bump to everyone in the class of 2023 at ECHHS, everyone that is
except Hunter. As Hunter extended his fist toward yours, instead of reciprocating the gesture,
you buried your hand into the back of your colleague’s arm. We believe the moment you decided
to publicly shun our client in front of his classmates and their families is shown below.

Humiliated in front of his peers, their families, and his own family, eighteen-year-old Hunter
pointed at you, and called you a “plagiarizing b****.” He then criticized the CHCCS Board
members present for not firing you.
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July 27, 2023
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You chose to further escalate the situation during your commencement address. Recall
that you had every opportunity to engage with Hunter and Kevin previously via e-mail. After
Hunter’s statement to you, instead of celebrating the graduates and their families, you chose to
target Hunter and his family. You said you were going to “give one of your classmates and their
family what they want,” and proceeded to suggest that our clients were trying to “tear” you
down. You also mentioned “citation errors,” a clear reference to the plagiarism situation
recounted above. It was after you singled out Hunter and the Klosty family from the podium that
Kevin walked across the Smith Center floor to try to discuss the situation with you. As pictured
below, Kevin did not come closer to five feet of you, as you walked off the floor flanked by
CHCCS administrators and a police officer.

The inequitable treatment of Hunter did not end there. After the ceremony, Hunter went
to the designated table to receive his diploma only to learn that your administration withheld it
from him. Only after Kevin threatened CHCCS with a lawsuit did the system send the diploma
by mail. Throughout this entire ordeal, this is the only arguable sanction Hunter ever received
from the school.

D. The Factual Allegations in Your Lawsuit Against Hunter

Hunter thought his dealings with you and CHCCS were over. Kevin looked forward to
moving on with his life, and watching his daughter graduate. But on June 16, 2023, you chose to
use our State’s courts against our clients.
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July 27, 2023
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You filed two complaints for a no-contact order under North Carolina law. You alleged
that Hunter “continually harassed me via social media” and that he “said untrue, defaming,
negative comments about me” at “a school board meeting.” You did not allege that Hunter
harassed you via e-mail. Regarding the June 10 graduation, you alleged that Hunter “reached
around an employee, pointed his finger in my face and called me a ‘plagiarizing bitch.’” You
also claimed Hunter “yelled at me from his seat.” You referenced a UNC police report.

Regarding Kevin, you alleged he also “continually harassed me on social media and via
email.” Regarding the CHCCS board meeting, you alleged that Kevin “moved to the row/seat
closest to me and stared me down, smirked, then clapped loudly.” You alleged that on June 10,
Kevin “ran on the floor, yelling at obscenities at me” and that “UNC Police intervened.” You
again pointed to a UNC Police report on file.

The UNC police report is revealing. The UNC police declined to remove Hunter from the
ceremony because “no crime had occurred.” The report also contains no mention of Kevin
yelling obscenities at you. The officer’s report says Kevin “pointed his finger at [you] and said
‘The investigation is going to begin.’” The report concluded that “[a]t no point during the
interactions at the Smith Center did Hunter or Kevin Klotsy [sic] exhibit any criminal behavior.”

We are concerned that your pleading contains misinformation at a minimum if not

material misrepresentations. Your allegation that Hunter “reached around” another employee to
point a finger in your face is contradicted by video of the event. Again, as Hunter approached
you, he extended his fist toward you for the same fist bump you shared with his classmates, but
you buried your hand in your colleagues’ arm. Further, the police report says only that Hunter
“pointed at” you, not that our client “pointed his finger” in your face. And the allegation Kevin
shouted obscenities at you is wholly unsupported by the police report. As such, we do not believe
you have satisfied your obligation as a litigant under Rule 11 of the North Carolina Rules of
Civil Procedure.

Nevertheless, on June 26, the district court accepted your allegations, and issued a far-
reaching order preventing Hunter and Kevin from setting foot on any CHCCS campus and from
speaking to you, even in a public forum. CHCCS has since sent letters to Hunter and Kevin
threatening them with arrest for trespass if they visit school property. For Kevin, this means he
cannot even so much as drop his daughter off at school.

II. Legal Analysis

“Two types of ‘unlawful conduct’ can support the entry of a civil no-contact order:
nonconsensual sexual conduct or ‘stalking.’” DiPrima o/b/o DiPrima v. Vann o/b/o Vann, 2021-
NCCOA-210, ¶ 16, 277 N.C. App. 438, 442, 860 S.E.2d 290, 293 (2019) (quoting N.C. Gen.
Stat. § 50C-1(7)). Sexual conduct is not at issue, so you must demonstrate Kevin and Hunter
engaged in “stalking,” which is defined as the following:
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July 27, 2023
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On more than one occasion, following or otherwise harassing, as defined in G.S.

14-277.3A(b)(2), another person without legal purpose with the intent to do any of
the following:

a. Place the person in reasonable fear either for the person’s safety or
the safety of the person’s immediate family or close personal associates.

b. Cause that person to suffer substantial emotional distress by placing

that person in fear of death, bodily injury, or continued harassment and that in fact
causes that person substantial emotional distress.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50C-1(6). “Harassment” requires “[k]nowing conduct . . . directed at a specific
person that torments, terrorizes, or terrifies that person and that serves no legitimate purpose.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-277.3A(b)(2). This requires a showing of “specific intent.” DiPrima, 2021-
NCCOA-210, ¶ 17, 277 N.C. App. at 443, 860 S.E.2d at 294.

Your allegations are insufficient to sustain a no-contact order here. Not once did Kevin or
Hunter conceivably threaten you prior to the June 10 graduation ceremony. Certainly, they
criticized you. Kevin called the operation you manage a “clown show.” Kevin and Hunter both
called you a plagiarist. Our clients called for you to be fired. All that is speech though, not
“knowing conduct,” which is what the statute requires. Further, it is speech that serves a
“legitimate purpose,” namely debate about the future and direction of the public schools in
Chapel Hill and Carrboro. And again, despite Kevin and Hunter’s repeated criticisms of you, not
once prior to June 10 did you claim they were harassing you or take any action against Kevin or
Hunter whatsoever.

Your presentation of what happened on June 10 is deeply misleading. Nevertheless, even

assuming it is true, which it is not, you would not have a basis for a no-contact order. The statute
requires the predicate conduct to occur “[o]n more than one occasion,” and that condition is
plainly not satisfied here.

This is not to mention the significant First Amendment problems your pursuit of a no-
contact order raises. As the Supreme Court has explained, “[a]s a general matter, we have
indicated that in public debate our own citizens must tolerate insulting, and even outrageous,
speech in order to provide adequate breathing space to the freedoms protected by the First
Amendment.” Madsen v. Women’s Health Center, Inc., 512 U.S. 753, 774 (1994). “The language
of the political arena” can often be “vituperative, abusive, and inexact.” Watts v. United States,
394 U.S. 705, 708 (1969). You are a highly-paid public official required to allow ordinary
citizens like Hunter and Kevin to make their voices heard. Your no-contact orders are an attempt
to silence and punish them for their constitutionally protected speech.

III. Conclusion

The purpose of this letter is to convince you to end your lawfare campaign against Hunter
and Kevin. The August 7 hearing is fast approaching. We need to know by the end of the day on
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July 27, 2023
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Monday, July 31, whether you will drop your cases against Hunter and Kevin. If you decline to
do so, we will prepare for the hearing accordingly.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or want to discuss. Nothing
in this letter should be construed as waiving, modifying, or diminishing any of our clients’ rights,
all of which are reserved.

Sincerely,

James R. Lawrence, III

cc: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

Board of Education
allboardmembers@chccs.k12.nc.us