(ANALYSIS) When Christian author, speaker and radio host Eric Metaxas interviewed a guest who claimed to have uncovered an election fraud plot, he did what many influencers on both the left and the right do when a claim fits their political biases—he received the guest’s story uncritically and provided validating (and perhaps hyperbolic) feedback.
But in this case, Metaxas found himself roped into a defamation lawsuit along with 14 other defendants, including his interviewee, four other Christian influencers and the Trump campaign—a lawsuit Metaxas’ attorneys argued will have a “chilling effect” on free speech if allowed to move forward.
But move forward it will, now that the Colorado Court of Appeals has cleared a major hurdle more than three years after the suit was filed in late 2020.
In a unanimous decision on April 11, the three-judge panel agreed with 2nd Judicial District Judge Marie Avery Moses in rejecting a motion to dismiss the suit, but struck down a key item.
Background
The suit was filed by former Dominion Voting Systems executive Eric Coomer after businessman and podcaster Joe Oltmann went to conservative media, including Metaxas’ show, purporting to have evidence that Coomer conspired with Antifa to rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump.
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Oltmann’s alleged evidence included an “infiltrated” conference call involving Antifa activists and someone identified as “Eric from Dominion,” who guaranteed a win for Joe Biden. Oltmann did internet research to make the connection that Eric from Dominion was Eric Coomer from Dominion Voting Systems.
Oltmann’s claim is now widely regarded as false, and multiple conservative media outlets have agreed to settlements with Coomer, while Fox News paid $787.5 million to settle a suit by Dominion.
However, attorneys for Metaxas and fellow defendants sought dismissal under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) statute, a check against frivolous lawsuits that target constitutionally protected speech. Signed into law in 2019, the statute requires the court to determine whether the “plaintiff has established that there is a reasonable likelihood that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.”
The defense argued Coomer failed to show malicious intent or that the defendants knew the election fraud claim to be false—two critical tests in proving defamation, which bears a high legal burden of proof due to First Amendment protections.
“In bringing this SLAPP suit against Defendant Metaxas, Plaintiff is making a strategic attempt to limit Defendant Metaxas’s participation in the national conversation regarding the election, including unanswered questions about various electronic voting machines,” Metaxas’ attorneys argued in the motion.
The Ruling
Previously, the defense’s constitutional concerns were dismissed by Judge Moses, who agreed to a permanent injunction forcing the defendants, including Metaxas, to remove all statements the court deems defamatory and refrain from publishing future statements.
“There is no constitutional value,” Moses wrote in a 136-page opinion, “in false statements of fact or the deliberate spread of dangerous and inflammatory political disinformation designed to sow distrust in democratic institutions.”
In affirming Moses’ decision, the appeals court retained the injunction and turned to the “reckless disregard” standard of defamation law when it concluded, “Given the gravity of the allegations and the size of the inferential leap they required, there is a reasonable likelihood that a jury could find that Oltmann acted with reckless disregard for the truth in making those accusations.”
Further, the court held that a jury is reasonably likely to decide the other defendants “recklessly disregarded the truth by asserting such an explosive and improbable claim without any evidence to support it.”
While the appellate judges rejected the defense’s motions to dismiss defamation and intentional infliction of emotional stress, the court did remove two tweets protected under the Communications Decency Act and, more significantly, struck down Coomer’s unsupported claim of a conspiracy between the defendants.
Now it will be up to a jury to decide whether Metaxas and his co-defendants committed defamation or were exercising free speech.
Metaxas’ Deposition
“Satanic.” “Evil.” “Flirt with insanity and violence.”
Such were the inflammatory words Eric Metaxas used on his show as he reacted to the picture Oltmann painted of an election-rigging insider.
But in his August 2021 deposition, Metaxas chose his words more cautiously. He admitted to not personally verifying Oltmann’s story or cross-examining him, but insisted that is not his job as a talk show host. He explained that he generally takes his guests at their word and that his show lacks the time and resources to do investigative journalism.
Metaxas said that when he interviewed Oltmann, he found his assertions of election fraud “horrifyingly plausible.” At the time of the deposition, Metaxas still maintained it was “possible” that Dominion committed fraud; but when asked whether he currently believed Coomer personally influenced the outcome of the election, he said, “I honestly have no idea…. I couldn’t know, so I couldn’t even answer yes or no.”
This article originally appeared at Ministry Watch and has been reprinted with permission.
Tony Mator is a freelance journalist and contributor at Ministry Watch, an independent donor watchdog group.
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45 Responses
Metaxas’ dive into looney Far Right election fraud claims came back to bite him on the backside. Sorry, guys, the election was not stolen. You owe an apology to all the election workers.
It’s distressing to see so many Evangelicals who are convinced the election was stolen/rigged. Even Trump’s AG (Bill Barr) admitted there was no evidence Every audit proved that Biden won and even Fox News later admitted there was no evidence of fraud.
Yet many are still convinced and tell us we need to “do the research” and often provide links to dubious sources. They follow the same formulas as other conspiracy theorists do and insist they are right and everyone else is wrong and they have access to privy data or they know someone who knows someone who knows someone else who knows someone who has ‘the proof’.
“ Sorry, guys, the election was not stolen. You owe an apology to all the election workers.”
So that’s your opinion/belief based on trust that the powers that be are not lying to us. Were you in charge of the 3k plus counties’ election tallying process? Of course not. You do realize that if they did lie, then you just lied as well?
Governments control narratives by lying, deceiving, manipulating and conning. Nothing new. Just read some of Lysander Spooner’s essays and see they’ve been doing it since the inception of voting on paper.
“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.” Supposedly said by a famous tyrant.
Do you realize how much easier it is to manipulate votes electronically? We’re being gaslit to the moon and back when they say “most secure election ever…”.
Numerous investigations in both red and blue counties and in court cases presided both Trump and non-Trump judges have found no evidence of fraud. In fact what few documented cases of fraud there were by Trump supporters and those did not change the outcome. And this conspiracy nonsense cost Fox News $787 Million dollars.
But then you would rather believe a con artist like Trump, rather the principle of Occam’s Razor. So unless this conspiracy involved hundreds of thousands of people, you are following Elvis sightings. You have no evidence to back up your claims, and the burden of proof is on the person making the accusation.
“ You have no evidence to back up your claims, and the burden of proof is on the person making the accusation.”
Interestingly, the word government comes from “govern” – to control, and “ment” – the mind. Mind control is how governments in the 20th century were able to exterminate, via democide, a quarter billion people who submitted and trusted them.
https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM
Logically, the burden of proof should be on them that they didn’t manipulate and lie.
Kenly, in your response to Daniel you have not presented any evidence that the 2020 election was stolen. All you have done is express your extreme distrust in all the various institutions that are involved in elections: county election officials, governments in general, electronic voting machine manufacturers, and by extension the media that is reporting on the elections. If we are being gaslit to the moon when told that the 2020 election was the most secure ever perhaps you could present evidence of another election that was more secure. What is most disturbing about your tirade is that a person as cynical as you about elections in general is unable to function in a democracy because you refuse to trust the institutions that uphold it. A person like you would be much more at home in Joseph Stalin’s Russia where elections truly were a sham. Perhaps you realize that your quotation “by a famous tyrant” was made by Joseph Stalin. You are much more willing to trust his statement than the American election officials whose job it is to help uphold and maintain our democracy.
Robert, I am no spring chicken (having a granddaddy that was born 145 or so years ago) and have a gifted intuition for discerning lies – if I didn’t I wouldn’t have made a decent living from my vocation.
Many years ago I quit voting after understanding how corrupted/duplicitous systems manipulate the masses. The only way these systems work is if they’re full of good, unaware people who unquestionably trust it.
Check out Dr. Shiva and the court case (he won) of how he uncovered election interference via social media companies during his run for office. He teaches about the science of systems, and once you understand the basic pattern of said systems, then you become acutely aware of the lies and fraud in almost every system.
https://www.youtube.com/live/OEkgZtu_Q2Q?si=qsxXfrOnTtxknxN-
It’s orders of magnitute harder to manipulate votes electronically and the breakdown in all conspiracy theories like this is the general belief that numerous nefarious actors are working together with greater degrees of cooperation than any church or benefelevent group of individuals could ever dream of
Eric reminds me of Joe Rogan who will interview and often provide little challenge to bad ideas.
If Eric is concerned about truth it must extend beyond Biblical and theological truth and must apply to everything.
Sorry to say Daniel but it was stolen. If it wasn’t why all the push back from the Left when those on the Right tried to investigate it. If the Left knew it wasn’t stolen then they would have said go ahead and investigate all you want.
I totally agree. There is so much evidence that it was, in fact, stolen. People need to do their homework.
The undisputed fact is courts heard Trump’s legal challenges and rejected them including judges whom Trump appointed. Trump supporters refuse to accept the fact voters were tired of Trump’s BS and bumptious manner. Trump alienated the voters he needed to win the election. https://apnews.com/article/trump-2020-election-lies-debunked-4fc26546b07962fdbf9d66e739fbb50d
What percentage of those cases reached the discovery phase?
It was not stolen. The loser claims that only due to his fragile ego. His puppet master in Moscow is pleased.
Mark, the pushback to the claim that the 2020 election was stolen is not evidence that the 2020 election was stolen. In this case whatever pushback “the left” has done is because election deniers refuse to concede that Trump lost the election even though the Trump team and his supporters lost more than 60 court cases related to election irregularities versus 1 minor victory following the 2020 election. Our judicial system is the very best way to get to the bottom of this issue. Both sides present evidence, call witnesses who are put under oath when they testify. Ironically many of these cases were dismissed because the Trump team refused to present any evidence at all. This has not stopped Donald Trump from continuing to state his claims. No one is stopping you or Donald Trump or anyone else from making these claims or even doing further investigations about the 2020 election.
It baffles me how Trump, MONTHS before the 2020 election, said: “if I lose, it’s because it will be stolen” – and people are believing it! Trump was telling everyone what his play would be if he lost, because his ego can’t handle the concept of defeat. It’s narcissism 101….and MILLIONS fell for it.
Could you imagine if Biden had said that? The accusations of arrogance and delusion that would fly from the right? But I guess it’s right because Trump said so (who needs evidence?)
I truly do believe Trump was right when he said he can shoot someone in the middle of Times Square and get away with it.
Yes this!!! Not to mention he was rage tweeting and retreating dubious claims at 3 am the night of the election. Is this the behavior of a trustworthy individual?
Big difference between empty political based hype and actual facts that can hold up in court. The courts have spoken. Follow the facts people, not the conspiracy theories. And please do not go to war wanting to kill political opponents no matter what your stance is or theirs. No Jesus in political violence.
So we should trust in the courts?
Courts have not and do not deal with the facts when they are compromised in multiple ways. Are you familiar with how courts commit grammatical fraud?
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1648462770936115202.html
Kenly, against my better judgment I clicked on your link and could not find the grammatical fraud that you were referring to. And, yes, I think the courts in the United States are much more trustworthy in dealing with facts than any media outlet. In any case “grammatical fraud” on the surface strikes me as being the weakest argument I have ever heard for not trusting our courts.
What in the world is grammatical fraud? And yes, I googled it.
Have you ever wondered why the name on your driver’s license, birth certificate, bank account statement, court document papers, etc., are all in capital letters? Do you sign your name in the same way? There is a public you, and a private you, and the for-profit incorporated system banks on most not understanding it (why most think hiring a BAR attorney is necessary for success in court).
Do you ever wonder why the IRS tax code is so complicated that if a small business owner sent his financial info to 10 different CPA’s that he gets 10 different answers as to what he owes? All by design.
There have been many people over the years exposing the grammatical fraud in the legal system with limited success, but the plandemic peaked more interest than ever on the subject.
Canadians like Cal Washington and Christopher James have helped educate the masses and are making a big difference.
https://metatron.substack.com/cp/144396455
You created a bit if a word salad there, friend. And you still didn’t define “grammatical fraud” nor does the link you provided define it. The term conjures up images of adjective identity theft” or “noun payroll fraud? ”But, I doubt that is what you are talking about.
If you are interested, here is a link to the FBI’s website discussing common types of fraud.
https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes
My apologies for not being more clear and concise. I’ve got too many links bookmarked without proper organization.
Fraud: A deception practiced in order to induce another to give up possession of property or surrender a right. Trickery.
Using grammar to trick and deceive is grammatical fraud.
Our courts are based on the ancient law merchant system, but they didn’t not teach us this (by design). The system creates a fictional character out of us via the birth certificate (name in all caps), and the system financially profits from us in ways we aren’t aware of ….almost every aspect of our involvement in society. Welcome to modern day slavery.
The courts and their black robed priests use the legal grammar to trick us into thinking we have rights. For example: If you use the term “person” to identify yourself you are identifying as the fictional you (all caps). Using the word “people/man/woman” you are identifying as the real you, and not the fiction. The bottom line is the rights of the fictional you (they created apart from your informed consent) and the real you are vastly different.
The Inpower movement is making tremendous headway into this deceptive system by using the same lawfare on those in power who are corrupt …from judges, queens, magistrates, state governors, etc., by sending them notices of liability and bills, and these people are are resigning/abdicating thrones and positions of authority. This is all happening outside the corrupted court systems world-wide. This is truly putting power back to people.
This link should help explain:
https://youtu.be/l5LgCjYLs2U?si=kCS1LcBbCecHkC2w
Do you have evidence of this tact credibly working in any court of law? I have seen several videos of “sovereign citizens” using this tact in court (with the upper and lower case names, and individual corporations etc) to try to avoid liability, and have only seen the courts explain to them why what they’re attempting is nonsense, and has nothing to do with actual legal theory.
if you have evidence of this actually working anywhere (other than a youtuber’s theory) please share. I understand that my algorithim may only be feeding me stories of it failing in court, but that may not mean that it only fails in court.
Lol many of these “compromised” judges were appointed by Trump himself
Tim, red and blue are on the same team.
Jen, Search for Cal’s first interview with Aaron 8 months ago, or his 2019 speech at the Red Pill Expo. These concepts are not theory, but fact.
So right Ralph! The Courts need to be followed as they sift through the evidence.
Comment from Downunder. How is it that evangelicals are happy to vote for an openly unrepentant reprobate? Why not ignore the candidates, if none fit your ideal, and just enter something like, Santa Claus, on your ballot. You never know, he might just step up to the plate.
Bryson, many of us in the USA, both Christians and unbelievers alike, are asking the same question. Thanks for your suggestion — Santa Claus does have a reliable history of delivering as promised and on schedule every December. That’s better than most politicians north or south of the equator.
They don’t care about the principles they claim to stand for. They love the open racism and hate their idol espouses.
Observing from afar (Australia), I continue to be dumbfounded by fellow US believers holding on to the opinion/belief that your last Presidential election was stolen. How more thoroughly could the allegation have been dismissed by how many of your courts! How telling is it that so many senior officers of the former President’s White House team refuted the allegation then and now! Please guys, the credibility of your voice in the News of the kingdom, is being harmed as far away as Australia by such intransigent refusal to accept truth – and this on a civil matter, not even the business of the kingdom. Please!
Denis, thank you for your (and Bryson Cole’s from above) perspective on the matter of the last U.S. presidential election. Much appreciation. Even our nation’s highest law enforcement figure — U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr — said there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud.
Our theology is 1/2″ thick, our faith is therapy-based and self absorbed, our bigotries and materialism continue to thrive as idols, and the US is deeply anti-intellectual, fear driven, and provincial. Otherwise, US believers are doing pretty good.
I feel for American citizens and those of genuine Christian faith because they contend with so many political and civic ‘food deserts’ – hence minimal options/choices – and the fact that though not completely unique to the States, Christianity is often used as a stalking horse by self-servers and charlatans. Of course, none of this is a coincidence, with any credible theologian, historian, sociologist, psychologist, etc. being able to offer valid reasons – to those who listen – as to why communities today lack trust, and people of influence and power are shameless.
The good news – pardon the pun – is that God in Christ is above all this, and though people of faith should never be indifferent to the world issues and problems, rather always endeavoring to love in both word and deed, ultimate citizenship is, and will be, in Christ.
To Those Cutting Down American Believers:
We are alive and well and thriving. Christ’s church continues to grow throughout the world. Our college campuses are beginning to experience revivals.
And, please, those constantly claiming the last election was not stolen need to examine all the rules that were changed at the last minute in order to benefit Democrats. Most of the legal challenges were dismissed before discovery, so please refrain from saying “even the courts stated there was no fraud..” or anything similar to that. Courts never got a chance to hear or examine in detail all the evidence.
The last election was negatively affected by all kinds of rule changes due to COVID. We will probably never know how much fraud took place and how many people cheated. The election, in that sense, was most definitely stolen.
God knows. He promises to repay.
One must also ask how anyone could possibly believe that Biden could receive more votes than Obama…Laughable, actually.
I’m genuinely curious to hear more about U.S. college campuses experiencing revival. Please provide link(s). I suspect this would be a great topic of interest for The Roys Report.
Hi David,
Two recent ones comes to mind: Asbury College and U. of Georgia. Also, last week I believe one began at the University of Tennessee.
https://decisionmagazine.com/uga-students-baptized-in-truck-beds-after-revival-event/
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2024/march/asbury-revival-taught-me-about-gen-z-casual-christianity.html
https://cmsedit.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2024/may/hundreds-of-gen-zers-make-decisions-for-jesus-at-university-of-tennessee-god-is-moving
The rules weren’t changed “to benefit Democrats.” That is politically biased fear mongering at its finest.
Absentee voting (which has been around for DECADES) was expanded because we were in the midst of a pandemic.
Low voter turnout tends to favor conservatives, so it’s “interesting” how any attempts to improve voter turnout (and you know, hear from ALL registered voters) puts conservatives in a panic.
Same with the complaints about the number of votes Biden (but no questions about the number of votes for Trump, whose popularity also didn’t come close to Obama’s?) received. Voter turnout and registration was at an all-time high (even higher than 2008 and 2012), but are the patriotic, democracy loving conservatives happy? No! Fewer voters now, right?!
How about making the conservative platform more appealing to more voters rather than complaining that more show up?
Marin:
Some facts for you from the Republican Oversight Committee in 2020:
https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-09-23-How-Democrats-Are-Attempting-to-Sow-Uncertainty-Inaccuracy-and-Delay-in-the-2020-Election
“Typical elections in the United States consist primarily of in-person voting, for which
states have established procedures, including basic safeguards to ensure that the person voting is
an eligible voter in the proper jurisdiction. This year, however, some Democrat-run states have
belatedly changed election administration procedures and moved to all-mail balloting—meaning
that as many as 44 million total ballots will be mass-mailed to registered voters with no
assurance the ballots reach the right person. This expansive and late shift to all-mail voting will
create conditions ripe for election crime, errors, inaccuracy, and delay.
All-mail balloting—not to be confused with time-tested and limited absentee balloting—
raises serious questions about election integrity. To begin, states have notoriously inaccurate
voter registration lists—one estimate suggests that voter registration rates exceed 100 percent of
the eligible populations in 378 counties across the United States. As the bipartisan Commission
on Federal Election Reform found in 2005, voting by mail “remain[s] the largest source of
potential voter fraud.”Even the New York Times and Washington Post have agreed. In October
2012, the Times reported that “votes cast by mail are less likely to be counted, more likely to be
compromised and more likely to be contested than those cast in a voting booth.” That same
month, in reporting about election crime, the Post explained that “[i]t may still be possible to
steal an American election, if you know the right way to go about it.”
The belief that mail voting is ripe for fraud is not based on actual evidence. WA state has been vote by mail only for more than a decade, and has minute fraud. There are very secure methods in place to verify and cure ballots- that CATCH fraud, not allow it. It is also more equitable, and makes it possible for many more people to have access to voting that might not otherwise, because of work, school, inability to get to a poling place, disabilities etc. I personally like it because I can sit at home with my voter guide and work my way through the ballot.
This, of course, is the real reason that republicans are against it- republicans lose when everyone has the chance to vote and there is high voter turn out. republicans lose when the electorate is informed.
States that changed their laws and sent ballots to everyone did not see more fraud than anywhere else. And by doing so gave every eligible citizen their right to vote during a global pandemic. That was a pretty nobel thing to do. Biden didn’t “steal” the election, he WON the election, by getting more votes. That’s how elections go. There is literally no proof that has stood up in a court of law (that requires more than conjecture and bluster), and until that is true, it just makes people look foolish to continue to claim it was stolen.
It is pretty obvious that a GOP led House Committee full of Trumpers (and not Conservatives) would say that. In other words, water is wet.
Riddle me this, Cynthia –
Given that all elections were absentee/mail-in that year, why is the Presidential election the ONLY one being questioned? I sure don’t see ANY elected GOP congressman, governor, judge, or states’ attorney who believes the Presidential election was stolen questioning the validity of their own. I haven’t heard any conservative outlet or organization say “let’s reconsider EVERY person elected in 2020, including our own candidates.” I sure don’t hear any questioning of how Trump received more votes than Obama as well (~9 million more).
Why is this?
Still waiting for an answer to this.
Those legal challenges were dismissed because the plaintiffs (Trump and company) could not present any evidence of fraud. Nearly all the suits were dismissed or dropped due to lack of evidence or lack of standing, including 30 lawsuits that were dismissed by the judge after a hearing on the merits of the case.
The phrase “on the merits” refers to a case whose decision rests upon the law as it applied to the particular evidence and facts presented in the case. This is in opposition to cases whose decisions rest upon procedural grounds. The distinction between decisions that rest on the merits rather than on procedural grounds is important because a decision on the merits is considered final and is thus bound by res judicata. If a decision is bound by res judicata, the parties involved in the case may not later raise those same claims in a subsequent case. Instead, a party that disagrees with the decision must appeal the decision, file a motion for a new trial, or a file a motion to reconsider.
Why did Trump’s legal team not continually appeal all these cases? Answer: They knew they did not have the evidence. In fact 14 of them were dropped by the plaintiffs.
But this was the standard Trump MO of muddying the waters, obfuscating, and delaying. His standard MO when he gets caught or in trouble.
LORD JESUS said, “this is not my kingdom.” Meaning politics is not what HIS followers should be invested in. The men ir women we put our trust in should reflect LORD JESUS, and HIS teachings. “Love your enemies.” I remember the words of a certain man, in his CHRISTMAS greeting, “I hope my opponents will burn in hell.” If that is a man you support, do you really think you are following LORD JESUS?Just saying…HE knows your heart and what you support. Love or hate.