Kit Roberts
A 22-year-old college graduate is suing Elon Musk for defamation after Musk retweeted far-right Twitter accounts claiming that he was involved in a 'false flag' operation.
Ben Brody is being represented by Sandy Hook lawyer Mark Bankston, who successfully sued far-right conspiracy theorist and InfoWars founder Alex Jones for $45 million.
Now, Mr Bankston is taking on Twitter/X owner Elon Musk. The lawsuit has come after Elon Musk retweeted claims that Mr Brody was a federal agent involved in a far-right group.
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The conspiracy was that Mr Brody had been part of a 'false flag' operation to create an impression of far-right groups being active during a Pride event in Portland.
Two far-right groups, neo-Nazi group Rose City Nationalists and Neo-fascist group The Proud Boys, became involved in a brawl.
Tweets about the brawl alleging that Mr Brody was involved were commented on by Musk, and are still up on Twitter at the time of writing.
In the reply, Musk wrote: "Looks like one is a college student (who wants to join the govt) and another is maybe an Antifa member, but nonetheless a probable false flag situation." He also tagged the platform's fact-checking resource Community Notes.
Ben Brody, a 22-year-old Jewish man from California, filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Monday.
He has claimed that he and his family were forced to flee their home following repeated threats and harassment after Musk spread the false accusations about him.
Now, his lawyer Mr Bankston has issued a statement on Twitter clarifying the accusation.
Mr Bankston said: "I am proud to announce I have filed suit against yet another notorious disseminator of false information: the owner of this platform, Elon Musk.
"This new lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ben Brody, a 22-year-old recent college graduate who has been forced to take action due to Musk’s astonishingly reckless conduct here on Twitter."
Beginning the statement, he continued: "The lawsuit alleges that on June 27th, in yet another example of his growing tendency to spread false information, Musk falsely told the world there was evidence indicating Ben Brody participated in a violent street brawl on behalf of a neo-Nazi extremist group.
"Musk also falsely told the world that that Ben Brody’s alleged participation in the extremist brawl meant the incident was probably a 'false flag' operation to deceive the American public.
"Musk made these ridiculously false and damaging accusations based on a tweet he had seen from an anonymous rightwing extremist Twitter account from the revolting 'Groyper' subculture. Musk amplified the accusations for two days before finally defaming Ben himself on June 27th."
He finished by 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. I am honored to assist him."
Brody is seeking $1 million in damages against Musk.
UNILAD has reached out to X and Elon Musk for comment.