The Tea Party movement is in danger of being ripped apart by internal rancor.
For months, the Tea Party Patriots have been embroiled in a dispute with a former leader, Amy Kremer, over her involvement with the Tea Party Express, a rival faction of Tea Partiers which the Patriots see as inauthentic and overly tied to the GOP.
And now Kremer has revealed that TPP is suing her.
On Tuesday, she wrote on her blog:
It truly saddens me that TPP leadership is expending an enormous amount of time and resources to pursue a frivolous lawsuit against me when this could have been resolved amicably, which I tried to do. Personally, I believe that the people of this movement would not want any time and money focused on a frivolous lawsuit, but would rather have these resources focused on fighting the socialist agenda of the current administration.
In a statement to other Tea Party activists, obtained by Politico, TPP leaders described the beef with Kremer as related to intellectual property. They wrote:
Unfortunately, Amy Kremer, a former member of the TPP Board of Directors, is claiming that she personally owns intellectual property that is actually the property of TPP. In addition, despite her removal from the Board of TPP, Ms. Kremer is still using a TPP leadership title in her signature, and causing confusion as she organizes events, calls, etc. that have nothing to do with TPP. Ms. Kremer is also taking positions and making statements contrary to those supported by TPP.
Indeed, Kremer appears to continue to see herself as a member of the Tea Party Patriots. In her post, she writes:
In the end, the reasons for my “removal” from any “leadership position” and this frivolous lawsuit cannot change the fact that I am still a Tea Party Patriot just as all of you. I have not been removed from this movement and pledge to always support each of you and your local organization. I am blessed and honored to be working with great Patriots across this country.
It looks like some of her former comrades in arms disagree.
