Gilmore v. Jones

Facts

A rally was organized in response to the Charlottesville City Council's decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a city park and change that park's name from 'Lee Park' to 'Emancipation Park.' P was among hundreds of individuals who gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, to protest various white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups participating in the 'Unite the Right' rally. P captured James Alex Fields, Jr. driving into a crowd, killing Heather Heyer and injuring approximately thirty-six others. P posted this footage on Twitter, and the video quickly went viral. P alleges that, in the days after August 12, Ds published articles and videos falsely portraying him as a 'deep state' operative who conspired to orchestrate violence in Charlottesville for political purposes. After Ds' publications appeared online, P 'became the subject of a barrage of harassing and threatening messages that made him fear for his personal safety as well as the safety of his family members.' P has been diagnosed with a medical condition causing a loss of vision in his right eye and has experienced 'exacerbated' symptoms of depression. P claims that his company has lost potential clients and partners and that he 'may need to remove himself altogether from the company's client-facing work' to prevent harm to the business. P asserts that it will be 'difficult' for him to serve as a diplomat if he returns to the State Department due to the reputational harm inflicted by Ds' publications, and claims that 'government officials who have endorsed Ds' lies' would 'likely' seek to 'oust him from government service entirely.' P brought suit against Ds for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). Ds moved to dismiss in part pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), arguing that P fails to state claims for either defamation or IIED.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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