Pilot sues right-wing influencer for defamation after being falsely accused of ‘trans terror attack’ in horrific DC crash

A transgender pilot has sued for defamation after being falsely accused of causing the devastating crash between a helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington, D.C.

Many online speculated that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies were to blame for the horrible crash in January that took the lives of 67 people, but one influencer allegedly placed the blame on a transgender helicopter pilot.

‘If you can stir up a mob because you say something that’s not true, that’s your right. But once the mob comes after someone, you’ve got to have some consequences.’

Jo Ellis said that friends and family alerted the pilot that people were blaming him for the crash, according to the New York Times. Ellis had served in the National Guard since 2009 and had deployments to Iraq and Kuwait.

On Wednesday, Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit at a U.S. district court in Colorado against Matt Wallace, an influencer who has 2.2 million followers on the X social media platform. The lawsuit accused Wallace of concocting “a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” against the pilot, including the suggestion that Ellis committed the attack as a part of a transgender terror plot.

The lawsuit said Wallace speculated that the transgender pilot might have committed the attack because of “depression” as well as “gender dysphoria.” His posts on social media were deleted.

Ellis claimed that security worries led the pilot to relocate with family for safety. He posted on Facebook to let everyone know he was still alive in order to try to defuse the false accusations.

The lawsuit was filed by the Equality Legal Action Fund, which defends LGBTQ people against defamation and harassment. Ellis is seeing monetary damages to be determined in court but said that the financial compensation would be donated to the families of the crash victims.

“I believe in free speech, but I also believe in consequences to free speech,” he said. “If you can stir up a mob because you say something that’s not true, that’s your right. But once the mob comes after someone, you’ve got to have some consequences.”

The Times said Wallace did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

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