Musk sued for defamation after falsely claiming man as neo-Nazi
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X (previously Twitter), is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by a 22-year-old Californian named Ben Brody. The suit claims that Musk falsely accused Brody of participating in a neo-Nazi protest in Oregon earlier this year, sparking a massive harassment campaign against him. Musk's posts on X allegedly led to Brody and his family being "repeatedly doxed," and they "suffered an enormous wave of harassment from belligerent strangers."
Details of Oregon incident and false identification
The incident took place in June when a fight erupted between two far-right groups at an Oregon City pride festival. Videos of the fight spread on social media, causing some users to identify Brody as one of the men involved mistakenly. They alleged Brody was a federal agent working undercover with a neo-Nazi group called Rose City Nationalists. Musk responded to multiple false X posts about Brody, exposing the misinformation to over his 147 million followers at the time.
Musk's involvement and consequences for Brody
On June 27, however, Musk commented on a post featuring a clip of the fight, suggesting that Brody was part of a "false flag" operation. "Looks like one is a college student (who wants to join the govt) and another is maybe an Antifa member, but nonetheless a probably false flag situation," Musk wrote on X. The lawsuit states that Brody and his family were forced to leave their home due to the harassment campaign fueled by Musk's posts.
Musk will not stop until someone stops him: Brody's lawyer
Mark Bankston is handling the lawsuit. He previously represented parents of Sandy Hook school students in a case against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Jones falsely claimed the 2012 shooting never occurred at the school. The parents won $45 million in damages. Bankston announced the lawsuit against Musk in a lengthy X thread, saying, "Musk will not stop until someone stops him. It seems that responsibility now falls upon a shy 22-year-old whose life has been shaken by Musk's reckless conduct."
Musk's history with defamation lawsuits
This is not the first time Musk has been sued for defamation over controversial comments. In 2018, British cave diver Vernon Unsworth sued Musk for calling him a "pedo guy" during a heated exchange about the rescue operation to save children trapped in a cave in Thailand. Musk ultimately won the case in 2019. With this new lawsuit, it is uncertain how the legal battle will play out.
