Alex Jones and Company Hit with Defamation Suit

On March 14th, 2018, Brennan Gilmore, who works in rural workforce development in an attempt bring IT jobs to under-served communities in rural Virginia, and who is also a senior director for Clean Virginia, penned a piece for the Washington Post whereby he alleges intentional and knowing defamation by Alex Jones, The Alex Jones show and individuals associated with the radio commentator.

It should be noted, that Brennan was at one time also the chief of staff to former Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-Va.) 2017 gubernatorial campaign. He served in the U.S. Foreign Service and is currently on leave from the Department of State.

(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/03/14/alex-jones-is-a-menace-to-society-im-suing-him/?utm_term=.bcc108c4b3d7).

The lawsuit, filed by Georgetown University law school's civil rights clinic on behalf of Brennan Gilmore in Virginia district court, alleges the defendants “caused irreparable damage” to Gilmore’s reputation “and threatened his physical and emotional well-being.” The group seeks compensation and punitive (triple damages) damages from Jones and other named defendants. March 13, 2018 by Brennan Gilmore (you can read the lawsuit in its entirety here: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000162-1fde-df2f-a7e2-9fde28960000).

Fake news is what Jones and company dispense and traffic in; finally a lawsuit is calling them out.

BACKGROUND: Charlottesville and the fascists

In this case, the basis for the allegations rendered in the lawsuit, if found to be true, show the hideous side of America culture and thinking; its loss of free speech in favor of censorship and defamation, use of the internet as an incitement machine, and the immoral side of the proficient manipulators, in this case Jones, et. al.

The lawsuit stems from events on Aug. 12, 2018 when 32-year-old Heather Heyer was horrifically killed and at least 19 others were wounded by a driver, a member of the alt-right or American fascist movement, plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters during the weekend of the infamous “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA.
Brennan Gilmore was present on that day.

Gilmore states that he saw this happen right in front of his eyes and he also stated, in his judgment, it was clearly deliberate and intentional. Gilmore captured the moment on his cell phone’s camera; he shared the video with police and he subsequently posted it on social media.
According to Gilmore, it was not long after these events and interviews by media outlets over the events he witnessed and recorded, that he was verbally attacked by Infowars’ Alex Jones and other reactionary and proto-fascist conspiracy theorists.

The lawsuit filed by Gilmore states, in part:

"Supporters of the “Unite the Right” rally, including Defendants, faced a crisis of legitimacy when a fellow supporter murdered Heather Heyer in cold blood. Defendants needed a scapegoat to create distance between the ideology they promote and Heyer’s murder. Given Mr. Gilmore’s connections to Democratic politicians and the State Department, Defendants thought they had their scapegoat in Mr. Gilmore, and attacked his presentation of the sequence of events based on his political leanings. But Defendants did more than just twist the publicly available information about Brennan; Defendants created a new identity for Mr. Gilmore out of whole cloth.

All Mr. Gilmore had done was share the truth about the tragic and traumatic act he regrettably witnessed. For a man who has devoted his life to serving his local community, the Commonwealth, the United States, and the global community, Defendants’ absurdly false portrayal of him, and the harassment that followed, was devastating" (ibid).

Gilmore alleges that the defendants' lies about him "quickly mobilized an army of followers to launch a campaign of intimidation, harassment and threats" that continue to this day, the lawsuit stated.

Gilmore then, which is part of the strategy, personally suffered hate mail and death threats. He also was the victim of hacking attempts and in-person harassment, (lawsuit). Gilmore and his parents' known addresses were posted online, prompting local law enforcement to patrol his parents' home. This is known as doxxing" (http://www.kveo.com/news/charlottesville-attack-witness-sues-alex-jones-others/1038885422).
Gilmore went on to state in his suit:

"Supporters of the “Unite the Right” rally, including Defendants, faced a crisis of legitimacy when a fellow supporter murdered Heather Heyer in coldblood. Defendants needed a scapegoat to create distance between the ideology they promote and Heyer’s murder" (ibid).

"......wanted to portray me as a “deep state” operative motivated by a desire to undermine President Trump and his administration. As a result, my family and I have been attacked and threatened"

(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/03/14/alex-jones-is-a-menace-to-society-im-suing-him/?utm_term=.bcc108c4b3d7).

Gilmore stated that he decided to sue Jones and others who defamed him and caused him mental and emotional stress because:

"no one should have to suffer this type of deliberate vilification — falsehoods spread about who they are and what they stand for — or be subject to harassment from professional conspiracy-mongers just because they witnessed a tragedy and accurately reported what they saw"
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/03/14/alex-jones-is-a-menace-to-society-im-suing-him/?utm_term=.bcc108c4b3d7).

JONES AND STONE PREPARE FOR CIVIL WAR

Jones, who makes his bones by calling out fake news and uses Roger Stone (who is not subject to this lawsuit), a political trickster and former operative under Richard Nixon, as a frequent guest has not commented as of this writing to the allegations levied in the lawsuit.

Jones did say in his InfoWars video Monday night, the 12th (the day before he was actually served with the suit, perhaps he knew it was coming, we do not know) that all of the lawsuits he is currently facing are attacks from the left aimed at stifling freedom of speech.
He went on to use an appeal to religious imagery and irrationality to describe how he felt about the matter:

“I’m willing to be guided by God Almighty, the creator of the universe and the four corners of the 12th dimensional helix that is the giant hourglass in a moosehead on fire that is God’s mind,” he said.

He later simplified, saying, “I just leave it in God’s hands.”

On March 15, 2018, two days after the lawsuit was filed, Roger Stone once again went on a rampage on InfoWars regarding fake news and the Mueller probe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVSECtD86Qs). He of course, had to know about the suit but carried on unbridled under the canopy of the corporation that owns InfoWars.

Jones and Stone are not just demented political allies and friends. In December of 2017 the pair recorded a trip they took to a gun range where they said they were readying themselves in case a civil war breaks out in the wake of Trump being removed from office.

“We defensively have a right to defend ourselves,” Jones said in the video. “Roger's been going to the shooting range more and more, and now has security, just like we do" (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/alex-jones-rogers-stone-hit-gun-range-prepare-civil-war-article-1.3715575).

Both of these scoundrels appeal to the Christian Right in everything they do.

SUMMARY

The reactionary right, fascists, alt-right members, white supremacists and others have used freedom of speech as their mantra in creating an environment of hate, intimidation and fear. Using the first amendment, they argue for platforms for fascist speakers, organizers and Fifth Column supporters while wrapping their narratives in lies, slander and libel.

According to the legal representative for Gilmore, Andrew Mendrala:

“The First Amendment does not and cannot protect deliberate lies designed to incite incessant harassment and violence against private citizens. This case is a simple defense of democracy. A well-informed public is essential to a healthy democracy. But a deliberately misinformed public is fatal to it” (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/13/alex-jones-sued-charlottesville-claims-459244).

As a federal and state attorney for 25 years I can attest to the veracity of this statement.

Brennan Gilmore was adamant that this suit is not about money but about stopping the alleged defamation, harassment, emotional distress and is his attempt to go on record to assure this does not happen in the future:
"There's no amount of money that would overcome the motivation of this case," which is to set a legal precedent to prevent the same thing from happening again, Gilmore said.

We can only hope that this case is not settled out of court, but goes to jury trial as plaintiffs have requested. The costs of discovery are enormous in a case like this and Jones is known to have the resources and legal team to fight.

Any settlement that involves a Non-Disclosure Agreement would be against the public interest for it would hide forever the resolution of the case and prevent the public from knowing the facts involved (http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/8579-unless-courts-use-power-to-block-nondisclosure-agreements-companies-like-the-washington-post-will-continue-to-silence-whistleblowers).

In May of last year Jones agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Greek yogurt manufacturer Chobani. The key component of the settlement agreement required him to retract inflammatory comments about refugees and the company he made on his Infowars broadcast last month.

He did. In that case Jones, whose YouTube channel has more than 2 million subscribers, drew the legal attention of Chobani when in early April he published a video and promoted it on Twitter with a headline that read "Idaho Yogurt Maker Caught Importing Migrant Rapists." (http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-chobani-alex-jones-20170517-story.html) and no non-disclosure agreement was signed. However, no damages were awarded, although $10,000 was requested in court filings (ibid).

Jones issued the following over the matter as part of his settlement with the company:

"During the week of April 10, 2017, certain statements were made on the Infowars, Twitter feed and YouTube channel regarding Chobani LLC that I now understand to be wrong. The tweets and video have now been retracted, and will not be re-posted," Jones said. "On behalf of Infowars, I regret that we mischaracterized Chobani, its employees and the people of Twin Falls, Idaho, the way we did" (ibid)

Earlier in March of 2017, Jones apologized and issued a retraction to a Washington, D.C.-based pizzeria for his broadcast's role in pushing a false story about a child sex ring that involved Hillary Clinton.

Jones continues to get away with insipid lies and horrendous acts designed to cause intimidation and harassment. His retractions and apologies are not enough; they serve as dog whistles to his base.

It is time to take fake news manufacturer, Alex Jones and his merry band of fascists to a jury trial. The public deserves to understand the difference between malicious defamation, emotional distress and free speech ginned up by lies, distortions and defamation.

In a society where truth has no currency, Jones and his ilk must be intellectually euthanized and outted for the hate mongers and national fascists they are.

For this, we need to leave the issue not in God's hands, as Jones would like to have us believe, but in the hands of a competent jury.