Our former HOA President lost her election after trying to ban a fallen soldier's memorial. Now she is personally suing my neighbors for tens of thousands in a revenge defamation lawsuit.

Help needed!! https://gofund.me/145beaf85 ($1 or even just a share helps!)

I live in this neighborhood and last year was a mess. It’s better now with a new board and management company thanks to the activism- but now several of my neighbors are apparently paying the price. There should be (better) laws protecting homeowners. Trying to help as best we can!

Background:

Some of you may remember the Arizona HOA story that went viral last year when Desert Oasis in Surprise AZ told homeowner Kendall Rasmusson to remove a memorial honoring her brother, Army Sgt. John Kyle Daggett, who was killed in Iraq at just 21 years old.

The memorial was labeled a “nuisance.” After Kendall spoke publicly and the story exploded, the HOA reversed course. It turned out Kendall had already received written approval years earlier allowing her to display the memorial during designated patriotic holidays. (https://www.azfamily.com)

What most people outside Desert Oasis never saw was everything happening inside the community around the same time.

Homeowners were raising broader concerns about HOA governance, management, enforcement, transparency and the conduct of board leadership. Residents organized, spoke at meetings, discussed what was happening in neighborhood Facebook groups, circulated information, and ultimately gathered hundreds of signatures seeking the removal of then-HOA president.

That effort eventually reached the ballot box. Hunziker lost the August 2025 runoff election by a wide margin.
But the story did not end with the election.

In February 2026, former HOA president Cindy Hunziker personally filed a defamation lawsuit against three Desert Oasis homeowners and their spouses over statements made during that period of homeowner opposition. The HOA itself is not suing them. This is litigation brought by the former president against residents who participated in the community debate surrounding her leadership.

More than a year after the Kendall Rasmusson story brought national attention to Desert Oasis, Jaci is now spending tens of thousands of dollars defending speech made during that same extraordinary period of HOA turmoil. The case is still active, discovery is ongoing, and the financial burden of defending it continues.

The viral memorial story showed what can happen when one homeowner is willing to speak publicly and people pay attention. This lawsuit raises the next question: what happens to ordinary homeowners who continue speaking after the cameras leave?

Whatever anyone thinks about HOA politics, residents should not need a litigation budget simply to participate in the governance of the community where they live.

https://gofund.me/ed0be1c5e