On October 15, 2025, at a community event, Leslie Sawyer, chairwoman of “Moms for Liberty Shasta County” in Shasta County, California, introduced the participation of members in school district meetings and California legislative activities. Over the past few years, Moms for Liberty ultimately led to California canceling the mandate for COVID-19 vaccination in schools.
Sawyer’s initial ideal was to be a homemaker. She said, “My lifelong wish was to be like June Cleaver, wearing a dress, with an apron tied around, eating a small apple pie.” June Cleaver is a character from the TV series “Leave It to Beaver”, who was the mom in the 1950s and 60s providing warmth and support to her family.
“My mom was a high school librarian, and I grew up on a campus, so I was very familiar with the school situation,” Sawyer said. “I was a cheerleader on the sports team since I was young, with a loud voice. I set life goals and almost achieved everything I wanted. Then, God watched me, closed that door, and led me in a whole new direction.”
“Before the COVID outbreak, I coached a teenage sports team and was a member of the teenage sports board,” Sawyer said. “Another board member’s son and my son were both team members. He pushed my son several times, and then the board member even cursed my son and bumped me against a wall.” Sawyer said, “But the board still decided to keep her, so I decided to leave after the season ended, despite parents asking me not to leave.” After the outbreak, her connection with teenage sports also ended.
When the pandemic started, 46% of students in Shasta County stayed at home. A mother said a group of moms is demanding not to mandate masks for children and not to vaccinate them against COVID. Sawyer said, “At that time, I didn’t know that was a new door opening for me.” They found out the district held secret meetings, not allowing the public to attend, and the county education administrator even distributed meeting materials stating that “right-wing extremist parents” posed a threat to education.
“That’s how we started, getting parents to the district to vote for principal candidates. Bring as many people as you have in your family,” Sawyer, who is also the production manager of Mountain Top Media, said. She mentioned that about two years later, the podcast video of that meeting created a sensation nationwide.
California’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine program for children was also halted and eventually completely removed. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision acknowledged the plaintiffs’ “reasonable allegation” that the COVID vaccine “cannot effectively ‘prevent disease transmission,’ only reduce symptoms in the infected,” and forcing people to get vaccinated against their will lacks legal basis. By then, the COVID situation had largely ended, and people’s views had changed from the initial panic.
Sawyer stated that Moms for Liberty, a grassroots organization, has all the resources, tools, and frameworks their team needs. After joining the organization, their team’s operations became much simpler. Originating from Florida, Moms for Liberty has chapters in 48 states, dedicated to uniting, educating, and empowering parents to defend parental rights, encouraging people to participate in critical decision-making on key issues, and opposing government overreach.
“We have been advocating for parental informed consent policies, but the California government enacted AB1955. We sued along with Sonja, knowing it would be a fierce battle,” Sawyer said. Sonja Shaw is the chair of the Chino Valley Unified School Board in San Bernardino County and opposed the AB1955 proposal that Governor Newsom hastily signed later.
AB1955, titled the “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act,” prohibits schools from notifying parents of children’s gender transitions, including using pronouns and names different from those at birth or participating in sports, locker rooms, and bathrooms of a different gender. The bill was introduced after more than ten school districts in California passed policies disclosing student gender changes to parents.
California continuously introduces “crazy” laws, Sawyer encourages California moms, “You have a say in policies, whether you attend school district meetings, run for public office, engage in teenage sports education; we have a lot of work to do. Some warriors go to every legislator to tell and express their opinions, they are freedom angels.”
“Our children are performing poorly in basic reading, writing, and math. This issue needs to be addressed,” Sawyer said. “There are also internet safety issues, and moms can do a lot within their means.” ◇