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Torts Keyed to Henderson
Gilmore v. Jones
Citation:
370 F. Supp. 3d 630 (2019)Facts
Brennan Gilmore, a State Department employee on leave who had worked as chief of staff for Tom Perriello’s Virginia gubernatorial campaign, attended the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017 as a counter-protester. While there, he filmed James Alex Fields Jr. driving into a crowd, killing Heather Heyer and injuring approximately thirty-six others. Gilmore posted this footage on Twitter, and it quickly went viral. He subsequently gave interviews to various media outlets.
Between August 13-21, 2017, the defendants published articles and videos claiming Gilmore was a “deep state shill” who had foreknowledge of or helped orchestrate the violence as part of a conspiracy to undermine President Trump and the “alt-right.” These publications connected Gilmore to George Soros, the CIA, and alleged “deep state” plots. Following these publications, Gilmore allegedly received threatening messages, experienced attempted hacks of his accounts, had his parents’ address posted online, and developed stress-related health issues including vision loss in his right eye and exacerbated depression symptoms. He claimed these publications harmed him professionally, causing his company to lose potential clients and partners.
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