Heather Lauer and The People United for Privacy Lie
Privacy is a foundational principle of a healthy constitutional republic, rooted in the God-given rights of free association and free speech. It ensures that citizens can support causes, engage in public policy, and advocate for change without fear of government overreach, retaliation, or harassment.
When individuals feel secure in expressing their values and standing for their beliefs, families, communities, and the nation as a whole grow stronger. Yet, as intimidation tactics and attempts to silence free speech become more common in Idaho politics, protecting these rights becomes a priority.
But what happens when the people who claim to protect our ability to speak up on public policy are involved in shutting down public engagement?
People United for Privacy: A Shield for Dark Money?
People United for Privacy (PUFP) bills itself as a champion of every American’s right to support causes without fear of harassment or intimidation. Led by CEO Heather Lauer, the organization claims to defend the principle of privacy in political engagement, portraying itself as a protector of free speech and association. Through partnerships with groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN), PUFP promotes what sounds like a noble mission.
Heather Lauer, a resident of Hailey, Idaho, is one of the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) co-founders and serves on its board of directors. She also sits on the board for Idaho Freedom Action (IFA), the political action arm of the IFF, and serves as the chair for the Blaine County Republican Central Committee.
“We can and should debate each other on policy issues, but as Americans, we must agree on the right to disagree.” - Heather Lauer.
The IFF has earned a reputation for bullying dissenters, using fear tactics, and launching personal attacks—precisely the behaviors PUFP claims to stand against. Conveniently, the IFF is deeply intertwined with SPN and ALEC, creating a link between PUFP and the political machine Lauer helped build.
Lauer donated money to Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld and appears to support the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance (MVLA). THe MVLA ran incredibly dishonest campaigns that maligned Republican incumbent campaigns in favor of unqualified candidates who pledged their allegiance to the MVLA Christian Nationalist agenda. Sen. Zuiderveld, a key member of MVLA, publicly shared the home address, employer, and family details of a political rival, a blatant violation of privacy that jeopardized the safety of her target and their family. Rather than condemning this reckless act, the Gem State Chronicle website celebrated Zuiderveld by awarding her for her so-called “bravery.” Lauer’s PUFP was listed as a paid sponsor of Brian Almon’s far-right propaganda website.
Bryan Smith, a medical debt collection attorney and fellow IFF board member, has been pushing a resolution within Idaho GOP central committees to censure an elected precinct committeeman. Why? Because the committeeman, Erickson, dared to speak out in support of Proposition 1—a voter initiative to open primaries and introduce ranked-choice voting. Smith’s resolution is an apparent attempt to punish and silence those who engage in public policy debates that don’t align with IFF’s rigid doctrine. Heather Lauer is listed as a sponsor of this resolution, further highlighting her role in stifling free discussion and dissent within Idaho’s political landscape.
Lauer’s duplicity extends to questionable election schemes. In Blaine County, she and her allies enabled an independent candidate to siphon votes from the Republican primary winner, handing the election to a Democrat. This wasn’t about principles—it was a cynical power play to shape Senate leadership to be friendly to dark money donors expecting legislative favors.
Despite being the public face of PUFP, Lauer avoids the spotlight, much like the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. She claims to prefer staying behind the scenes, which aligns neatly with her work shielding the identities of far-right dark money donors. It appears that the secret dark money donors fuel the extremism and harassment that PUFP ostensibly exists to combat, making Lauer’s role all the more hypocritical.
A Pattern of Extremism and Intimidation
The IFF’s track record under Lauer’s leadership reveals a troubling pattern of enabling hate and harassment.
One glaring example is the hiring of Dave Reilly, a known anti-Semite with ties to Nick Fuentes and the white nationalist movement. Reilly gained notoriety as an promoter of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, where participants chanted, “Jews will not replace us.” Despite his hateful history, the IFF hired Reilly to help them with messaging and communications. They only cut ties with him when public backlash made his presence untenable. Even then, the IFF remained silent on his anti-Semitic and misogynistic rhetoric. Lauer serves on the IFF board of directors and should have been aware that the group she oversees had hired someone as dangerous as Reilly.
If this hypocrisy was not bad enough, Lauer hired Dustin Hurst to serve as the Sr. Director of Development for People United for Privacy.
Dustin Hurst is a well-known troll despised by many within Idaho’s political circles. He has spent years trying to bully and silence anyone who argues against IFF’s tactics with his thousands of “mean tweets” while he served as the Vice President of communications for the IFF.
Hurst has a long history of publishing personal information. In 2020, while working for IFF’s political action arm, Hurst published the personal details of over 300,000 Idahoans, including police officers, judges, and women in hiding from abusive spouses. The names were not removed from IFA’s website until after the press called attention to the fact Hurst had shared protected names and addresses, which could have put some at risk. Hurst was involved in sharing information about a police officer involved in arresting a lockdown protester on social media, leading Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights Network to harass the officer and his family at their home.
Hurst’s harassment didn’t stop there. In an effort to silence and intimidate me, he published my home address and posted a threat to show up at my house. His public posts were used as evidence, and in the fall of 2023, a judge ruled that these were instances of stalking. The court issued a stalking protection order against Hurst. Regardless of the protection order, Hurst’s obsessive harassment campaign continues to this day.
How can an organization whose mission statement says, “Every American has a right to support causes they believe in without fear of harassment or intimidation” that works with someone who has a documented history of stalking, harassment, doxxing, and intimidation be taken seriously?
"Every American has the right to support causes they believe in without fear of harassment or abuse of their personal information." - Heather Lauer, CEO of People United for Privacy.
Gaslighting Donors and Voters
For someone who says we should agree on a right to disagree, Lauer sure has a funny way of showing it.
While claiming to protect privacy, Lauer appears to openly support groups and individuals who dox, harass, and spread misinformation to intimidate others who exercise their right to disagree. Her talk about defending privacy is just a cover for pushing her far-right agenda. For Lauer and her allies, “privacy” isn’t a value—it’s a tool to shield their favorite donors from the abuse she and her friends dish out online to get what they want.
On paper, People United for Privacy sounds like a good idea. But under Lauer’s leadership, it’s become a shield for those who promote hate, bully lawmakers, and push self-serving legislation. Instead of protecting privacy, Lauer may be gaslighting donors into funding the very behaviors it claims to oppose.
It’s time for people to see that Heather Lauer is a critical part of the political machine designed to protect extremists and silence opposition. If we care about protecting our values and the integrity of our communities, we need to call out Heather Lauer for her gaslighting and hypocrisy.
About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican whose articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. Graf and his family moved to Idaho Falls in 2013 from Utah and currently reside in Star.
Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in the exercise of their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.
Follow Political Potatoes on Facebook and X (Twitter)