Pro-Trump media figure Benny Johnson is being sued for defamation by protesters who say he falsely portrayed them as "left-wing terrorists" who had assaulted federal officers.
One plaintiff, Kyle Frankovich, had never heard of Johnson before the podcaster and online influencer posted video of Frankovich and a row of other protesters detained outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Ill. last October. "These individuals assaulted ICE officers as they were trying to clear out the area behind us over here," said Johnson in one video.
Johnson made the videos while embedded with then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and then Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino.
Johnson knew that wasn't true, according to a lawsuit filed by Frankovich and another protester on Friday. Frankovich was observing and recording video of the ICE agents from a designated "free speech" area when he was thrown to the ground and arrested.
He told NPR he remembers being filmed by what appeared to be civilians in reflective vests. "I'd seen Kristy Noem being walked past and I kind of put it together at that point that 'Oh, they're filming propaganda. They're using us as props," said Frankovich.
He and his co-plaintiff, Maureen Foody, were released without charges.
Images of Frankovich with his hands zip-tied behind him, with his distinctive tattoos visible, were later used in recruiting material by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Frankovich is a data scientist who works for Harvard University and Foody is a court reporter. In their complaint, both say they've lived with fears of violent attacks and professional consequences since being called terrorists in Johnson's videos.
Frankovich said he began to see social media posts falsely claiming he was a Chicago antifa leader, which he says he is not.
"They said we need to find who this person is, find out where they live, and we need to stop him. And that's obviously very terrifying," said Frankovich. He and his partner decided "neither of us should be walking alone to walk our dog. We should be together, keep an eye out, make sure that there's nobody strange parked outside of our house."
Johnson has millions of social media followers and his footage was aired on Fox News. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"Benny Johnson is a key part of Trump's malignant disinformation ecosystem that has spread lies and propaganda with impunity," said Karriane Jones, an attorney with Evergreen Legal Strategies, the lead law firm filing the suit. "This case should put him and other bad actors on notice that they will be held accountable for the damage their lies cause."
While federal government officials are generally immune from defamation suits, the claims against Johnson highlight a pattern the Trump administration has used to control the information environment, said Rachel Goodman, special counsel with Protect Democracy, a legal non-profit that's worked on similar defamation cases but is not involved in this lawsuit.
In addition to undermining nonpartisan journalism and media, Goodman said "the other part of that strategy is its propaganda strategy … working very closely with influencers who are politically aligned and sort of administration allies to actually bring them in to create content."
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