Joseph Hayon was an anti-gay conservative activist and founder of the Brooklyn Tea Party. He ran for the New York Assembly in 2010 emphasizing family values, attacking his opponent for supporting an anti-bullying bill because it included LGBTIQ students. He ran again in 2012 in a different district, and lost again. In 2013, he ran for City Council and lost definitively. His campaign again focused on morality and family values, emphasizing a proposal to ban the sale of obscene literature and have librarians face criminal penalties if children saw porn on library computers.
He was arrested and confessed to viewing child exploitation imagery of girls from two to twelve. He was convicted of 94 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child. He was sentenced to 1.4 to 4 years per count to run concurrently.
- Bklyner: Joseph Hayon, Midwood Republican who ran on family values platform confessing to viewing child pornography
- Justia: People of New York v Joseph Hayon (trying to get search warrant thrown out) Failed.
- US District Court: Hayon v Reardon (2019 appealing conviction) Failed.
- US District Court: Hayon v Reardon (2021 appeal – failed)
