An organic Fauquier County farmer who inspired a pitchfork rebellion in the Piedmont after being threatened with a $5,000 fine for selling farm products on her own farm is fighting back against her bureaucratic tormentors. In a $2 million lawsuit filed in Fauquier Circuit Court last week, McLean attorney Michelle Rosati presents compelling evidence that zoning officials — not Martha Boneta — are the real lawbreakers.

Boneta’s 70-acre farm in Paris, Va., made national headlines after Zoning Administrator Kimberley Johnson also cited her for hosting a private children’s birthday party on her property without a permit. As the 10-count lawsuit alleges, Johnson and other zoning officials operated beyond the bounds of their legal authority and violated her constitutional rights by poking their noses into Boneta’s business.