Some very important background context on how we got here. My dad was an abusive alcoholic that walked out of my family’s lives almost 3 years ago now and my parents divorce just finalized a couple months ago. I requested to be at the final divorce hearing as a means to show he had no power over me anymore and that I have the strength to stand up to him that I didn’t back then. it was a public hearing and I am an adult so I was able attend. Him and his lawyer requested I be removed before the hearing but the judge denied it because I was causing no disturbance. Before the hearing my grandfather who drove all the way down from NY to support my dad, walked up to me with a large wad of cash and said it was for all the birthdays and Christmas’s he didn’t send anything for. I told him I didn’t want it and my dads sister shouted from her seat from completely across the lobby of the court house (there was about 12 people +2 security guards between us) that I was “an ungrateful little sh\*t” and my dads/her cousin who was there in support of my mom told her to watch her mouth and she called my the cousin a bitch. The outburst caused neither my aunt nor my grandfather to be allowed in the room for the hearing. After the hearing was over my dad posted on his Facebook “who takes their marital child to a divorce hearing?!?” And other vague posting directed at my mom. I was so p\*ssed off by that I made a Facebook profile as (fathers full name)’s son and posted on there and on my snap why I was really there and that he should’ve more embarrassed with himself and his sister along with posting all the horrible things he’s done to me, my siblings, and my mother. Cut to the attached screenshots, my aunts daughter responded to my post completely ignoring where I listed off the abuse and went straight to defending her mother and my grandfather who were both there to support my dad. This cousin also happens to b e a local 1st grade teacher and I live in a one party consent state so I then posted the full uncensored screen recording of the chat on the earlier mentioned facebook page with her tagged because I believed people should know the kind of person they are entrusting their kids with, and they should know if the person in charge of their child’s safety defends child abuse. I will honestly say it was my complete intention for people to see it. Come to now and I’ve heard whispers that some of the parents and people at the school have seen my post and are appalled. Nothing has actually happened so far but if something does happen and she happens to lose her job, that’s where I run into a problem. Her husband’s family is incredibly rich(like multiple houses and actively has a lawyer on retainer rich) and I’m worried if something happens they might try to come after me legally. What I want to know is there anything they might actually have ground to stand on to get me for like defamation or harassment or losses, and if they do, how \*ucked might I be?

The cropped message was

I was really, genuinely, hoping you weren’t like your mother. I was hoping maybe you were just uninformed. I never once even said her name in my post; your fit was for nothing because you’d be one of only people who even knew I was talking about Karen. I don’t know why me just saying what she did struck a chord with you, if you don’t like her actions being shared maybe she shouldn’t have done it. Karen lives up to her namesake, haircut and all. Shes earned the title. I can’t imagine why you’d find your mother’s behavior funny but no one who actually finds something funny uses that many emojis. Sh\*ts cringe. It’s like you didn’t even read what the post was about. I figured you of all people would have some sympathy considering you’ve been through something similar. Firstly the fact your parents split too under similar circumstances, but also the fact you know depravity and the hurt that can be caused by some people when you’ve had so many shitty exes. You and your incompetent mother stick up for the same kind of low life you have BOTH been hurt by. Let me put it like this, (abusive ex) hurt you right? Now imagine when he did that, that your circle of best friends all decided “yeah he hurt you but we’re still gonna stick up for him because he’s our friend too. We still care about you and love you though” I imagine you’d say those aren’t real friends because they stick up for the person that hurt you. Now for me, it’s not my friends, it’s my own family. It’s you, karen, (grandpa), and (grandma). Facilitators. Abuse and neglect defenders. So you can call it love all you want but it’s not love when you defend him. Hell, (grandma) divorced (grandpa) for THE EXACT SAME \*UCKING REASON but it’s like none of yall learn from your mistakes. You’re all hypocrites. I know you read the first message, you’re not ignorant to what he’s done. I know he lies about it, but he can’t lie about what’s recorded, I have videos of the abuse and neglect for Christ sake. I was hoping it wouldn’t be like this, I thought you were better. You are a teacher (cousin), an elementary school teacher. Imagine if you found out one of your students was going through what I’ve been through; I imagine and genuinely hope you’d be mortified, I hope you’d do something. The sad part is I think you would, but for some reason family is different. Either way, your behavior is unbecoming of a teacher. You should know better. I see between the two of us, only one is capable of breaking the cycle and you’ve shown it’s not you. I pray for your daughter; I hope the apple falls far far from the tree.

Could my teacher cousin and her rich family sue me if she loses her job because I exposed her for defending child abuse