A transgender woman who was erroneously identified as the pilot of a helicopter involved in a deadly mid-air collision outside of Washington, D.C., has filed a defamation lawsuit against at least one conservative social media influencer.
According to The Guardian, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jo Ellis, a transgender woman and certified Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia national guard. In her complaint, Ellis alleges that influencer Matthew Wallace “concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” that monetized a “false narrative” about.
Ellis was not in any way involved in the January 29 crash at Ronald Reagan International Airport. The mid-air collision, between a Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial American Eagle flight, left 67 dead with no survivors.
Wallace, a conservative social media influencer, publicly identified Ellis as the pilot of the downed helicopter. In several Twitter posts, he included Ellis’s photographs, positing her as an underqualified “DEI hire.”
Attorneys for Ellis say that Wallace has more than 2 million followers; they estimate that millions more may have seen Ellis’s photograph through retweets and shares.
“He was one of the largest platforms with the most followers to really publicize this and put it out here, and so that it went viral,” attorney Meg Phelan told The Guardian. “It seemed very strategic, so that was really why we zeroed in on Matt Wallace.”
Ellis purportedly received “credible death threats” as a result of Wallace’s social media posts.
“Gaining infamy overnight caused Plaintiff and her family tremendous suffering,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff was devastated that her story was overshadowing the tragic events of the plane crash and likely causing more suffering for the families who lost their loved ones.”
“She also feared for her safety and the safety of her family,” it says.
Ellis told The Guardian that her life has been significantly and irreversibly altered as a result of the alleged defamation.
“Too many times do people who have big platforms get to do this to innocent people and drag them through the mud and get away with it,” Ellis said. “And I have a unique opportunity to actually hold someone accountable.”
“So I feel strongly about free speech,” she said, “but I also feel strongly about consequences to free speech when you use it to stir up a mob and impact someone’s life.”
Ellis is still serving in the Virginia national guard but told the Guardian she is worried about the publicity she has already received.
“Sadly, my life is just different entirely, because when I move through life now, I’m recognized,” she said. “I’m not too far from DC, so if I go up there, people recognize me, and I kind of have to look over my shoulder because of the anti-trans rhetoric. I don’t know if I’m going to be recognized by someone who’s friendly or someone who doesn’t like the fact that I’m in the military and I’m trans.”
Sources
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