USA Fencing board faces lawsuit alleging chair made false statements at DOGE hearing on trans athletes

EXCLUSIVE: Two USA Fencing committee of directors members are suing the different six members, alleging seat Damien Lehfeldt made mendacious statements to legislature astatine a May 7 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee proceeding connected transgender athletes. 

The lawsuit, which seeks to person Lehfeldt removed arsenic USA Fencing chair, was filed connected USA Fencing's behalf by the 2 plaintiff members.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) (L) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) (R) talk astir an alleged screenshot from the Instagram of USA Fencing committee manager Damien Lehfeldt during the proceeding connected "Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" held by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee astatine the U.S. Capitol connected May 7, 2025, successful Washington, D.C.  (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

The plaintiffs, Andrey Geva and Abdel Salem, each person agelong ties to the athletics and organization. 

Geva is simply a erstwhile U.S. National Coach who led the U.S. Women’s Épée Team astatine the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, earlier being elected to the committee successful 2024. Abdel competed for Egypt successful idiosyncratic and squad épée events astatine the 1984 Summer Olympics, the erstwhile caput fencing manager of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and successful 1996 was named the U.S. Olympic Committee Coach of the Year.

Now, they are taking the enactment to tribunal aft alleging Lefheldt falsely announced Geva's resignation from the committee astatine a gathering connected June 7, and implicit respective allegations involving the May 7 Doge hearing.

The May proceeding was called successful effect to a viral incidental wherever women's fencer Stephanie Turner kneeled to protestation a transgender opponent, and was subsequently punished by USA Fencing. Lefheldt was the lone fig to attest connected behalf of the organization. 

The suit claims Lehfeldt made "false and misleading claims" astatine the hearing, which present hazard the enactment being declassified arsenic a nationalist governing assemblage (NGB). 

"Defendant Lehfeldt’s non-corporative demeanor successful atrocious religion and untruthful and misleading statements astatine the legislature proceeding connected May 7, [2025] has prompted the Congress to see decertifying USFA arsenic an NGB, frankincense perchance risking Team USA’s qualification successful the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Game," the suit states.

"His lies person alienated thousands of members successful the fencing assemblage who person provided much than 90% of USFA’s revenues." 

Geva claims helium attempted to talk astatine the proceeding arsenic well, but alleges helium faced "threats" aimed to "deter" him from it. Geva yet submitted a missive to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, connected May 2, expressing "opinion connected biologic men’s vantage implicit women successful fencing." Cruz's bureau had precocious opened an probe into USA Fencing implicit its transgender eligibility argumentation aft the Turner incident. 

The missive was past referenced during the DOGE proceeding by subcommittee chairwoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene. 

"'Transgender women's fencers person important competitions successful women's competitions,' helium writes," Greene said during the hearing, speechmaking from Geva's letter. 

The suit alleges Geva was past messaged by a chap committee member, blaming him for his honorable idiosyncratic opinion, and past 2 committee members called for a "special committee gathering intended to region oregon different subject Plaintiff Geva."

WHO IS STEPHANIE TURNER? WOMEN'S FENCER WHO KNELT TO PROTEST TRANS OPPONENT AND IGNITED GLOBAL AWARENESS

USA Fencing has acknowledged the suit successful a connection to Fox News Digital. 

"USA Fencing proudly serves its members — athletes, coaches, referees and clubs — crossed our assemblage with implicit transparency and integrity. This derivative suit misrepresents our organization, and we volition vigorously support the enactment successful court; immoderate effort to disparage them volition beryllium addressed appropriately," the connection read.

"Because litigation is ongoing, we cannot sermon details. Our absorption remains unwavering: advancing fencing nationwide, supporting each member’s success, and upholding the values of the Olympic and Paralympic movement."

The enactment has been nether immense nationalist scrutiny pursuing the merchandise of the footage of Turner's protestation connected April 2. 

Lefheldt's grounds astatine the May 7 proceeding lone intensified the criticism. 

Lehfeldt, who was subpoenaed and did not travel voluntarily, made elevated the contention up of the proceeding with a bid of Instagram stories that were aboriginal blown up and utilized against him connected the committee floor. In 1 post, which went viral earlier the hearing, helium responded to a question that asked whether helium was "okay" with putting pistillate fencers astatine a disadvantage with a simple, brash answer: "Yeah." 

Then, during the hearing, Lehfeldt admitted aggregate times helium regretted answering that mode and admitted the question required a "more-nuanced" response. 

At 1 constituent during the hearing, Lefheldt confessed to falsifying an email from a fictitious fencing parent "Dorothy" who disagreed with him and called those members with akin presumption of "Dorothy" "grand wizard" of Ku Klux Klan.

"It was a mediocre effort astatine humor," Lehfeldt said. 

Rep. Tim Burhcett, R-Tenn., asked Lehfeldt whether helium would fto his girl obstruction against "a man." Lehfeldt suggested helium would let it portion boasting astir his organization's information precautions. 

"As agelong arsenic the rival has met each the hormonal requirements and complies with the policy, I would beryllium good with it," Lehfeldt said. 

Later successful the hearing, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., suggested that Lehfeldt was "not" a antheral for his organization's sex eligibility policy. 

"Real men support women, you're not one," Mace said. 

Mace adjacent asked Lehfeldt to simply apologize to Turner for punishing the fencer, to which the seat declined and pointed retired that Turner received a achromatic paper for her refusal. 

Turner told Fox News Digital aft the DOGE proceeding that she would enactment to lobby enactment changes to USA Fencing aft stepping distant from the sport. 

"I'm going to beryllium pushing for radical to resign, to beryllium honest. I'd similar to spot immoderate radical resign for the comments that they've made, particularly publicly, ones that are harassing and meant to humiliate acrophobic women, mothers and daughters," Turner said. 

Now, 2 members connected the committee of directors person joined that cause. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Amid the ongoing scrutiny, USA Fencing's committee voted to amend its existent argumentation that prioritized states with LGBTQ-friendly laws for big sites for competitions and a argumentation that whitethorn person prevented the playing of the nationalist anthem astatine immoderate events, astatine its June 7 meeting.

The erstwhile policies became 1 of the organization's biggest points of disapproval aft Turner's viral protest. 

USA Fencing has declined to explicate the information down the changes. 

"It would beryllium inappropriate for unit to speculate connected the idiosyncratic motivations of USA Fencing’s unpaid Board of Directors," a USA Fencing spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.