A photo shows the logo of the the American online social media and social networking service, Facebook and Twitter on a computer screen on Oct. 21, 2020. (Denis Charlet/AFP via Getty Images)
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Attorneys John Pierce and former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) filed in May a federal civil RICO (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act) lawsuit seeking over $10 billion in damages against Facebook, Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Dorsey on behalf of Laura Loomer, a Republican who is running for Florida’s 11th congressional district.
Loomer is a Jewish conservative journalist who has been banned from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Uber, Uber Eats Lyft, Clubhouse, and Chase online banking, among other companies.
The lead counsel, Bob Barr, founder of the non-profit Liberty Guard, told The Epoch Times that this case is different from other cases filed against big tech/social media companies in recent years, which have generally focused on some form of defamation.
“What we have constructed in our complaint … is far different—it’s broader, more complex, and more substantive,” Barr said.
“It looks at what Facebook and Twitter, in particular, have been doing to our client, Laura Loomer, in Florida. In the context of how social media more broadly entice individuals to use their platforms and then basically commit fraud by de-platforming them after they promised not to de-platform them in order to get their money,” he further noted.
“The lawsuit goes far beyond that, because as you may be aware, in a RICO case, federal racketeering case, once you establish that there is this pattern of activities or predicate acts being committed against our client, in this case, then similar acts, similar bad actions can be brought in,” Barr said.
“That’s what we’ve done, so if you were looking at the lawsuit … you would see many pages that deal with predicate acts by Facebook and Twitter not just against Laura, but against other people, other institutions as well. So that’s why it’s, I think, far more substantive and brings the action against social media to a much higher level than these other cases involving simple defamation.”
The complaint (pdf) alleges that the defendants have engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity, which encompasses the breaking of a number of federal criminal laws, including interference with commerce by threats or violence, interstate and foreign transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises, wire fraud, providing material support or resources to terrorist organizations, and advocating the overthrow of government.
Barr would like the public to see that there is a legitimate way, through the court system, to try to hold social media entities accountable for their actions.
“I think there’s a great frustration out there, where people see themselves being de-platformed or punished, so to speak, by social media, and they feel powerless to do anything about it. Hopefully, in this lawsuit, people will see that there are ways to address these issues legitimately through the judicial system,” Barr concluded.
John Pierce, founder of John Pierce law and the National Constitutional Law Union, recently filed a lawsuit against Atlas Air, on behalf of US Freedom Flyers (USFF) and Atlas employees, and plans to sue all major airlines, 18 altogether, plus the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), contending that the vaccine mandates imposed by these agencies on the airlines’ employees infringed on their constitutional, religious, and medical liberties.
Pierce told The Epoch Times he is “very excited to be part of the case” against Big Tech. “It is a very meritorious and unique way to go after Big Tech in terms of the wrongful conduct that they have been engaged in.”
Pierce said in a press release (pdf): “It is time for Big Tech tyranny to come to an end. For too long, Americans have sat idly by while companies like Facebook and Twitter have warped public debate with their algorithms, so-called fact-checkers, and shadow-banning.”
“The idea that [Laura Loomer] can be silenced by Big Tech with the push of a button because she is conservative is absurd, dangerous, and un-American. In this legal action, we will fight to ensure that Ms. Loomer’s voice is not silenced, and that vital constitutionally guaranteed rights are protected in the digital age.”
Loomer said she looks forward to “taking on Facebook, Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Dorsey in the courtroom.”
“I’m proud to have filed the first-ever RICO case against the big tech mafia, the big tech social media tyrants, for their criminal activity and active conspiracy in an effort to silence Americans and basically control the flow of information around the world,” Loomer told The Epoch Times.
“Ultimately I think that they need to be held accountable … and just like I’m going to be holding them accountable in the courtroom with my RICO case, I also look forward to holding Big Tech accountable once I win my congressional race,” Loomer continued.
“I think it’s important for people to remember that I am the first and the only de-platformed candidate in United States history. So my campaign is the only campaign that has ever been denied access to social media and this is election interference.”
A Florida law that would fine social media companies for deplatforming political candidates was challenged in court in May.
Facebook and Twitter are both incorporated in the state of Delaware. Facebook’s headquarters is in Menlo Park, California. The headquarters of Twitter is in San Francisco.
Zuckerberg is the Chairman and CEO of Facebook, Dorsey is the former CEO of Twitter. Both of them are residents of California, and both companies have substantial businesses in all 50 states.
The Epoch Times reached out to Twitter and Facebook for comment.
