Black Lives Matter Activist Sues Fox News Host

DeRay McKesson, an activist from the Black Lives Matter movement recently filed a defamation suit against Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. McKesson accused Pirro of smearing him by saying that he became violent towards a police officer of the Baton Rouge in 2016. He filed the lawsuit in a Manhattan Supreme Court.

The activist explains that it all stemmed from Pirro’s comments during a rally where they were protesting against the fatal shooting of a fellow black man named Alton Sterling in 2016.

McKesson participated in the rally and was arrested. However, the charges filed against him were dismissed. Along with him were 185 protesters who settled a lawsuit against the Baton Rouge police.

One police officer filed his own lawsuit claiming that a protester threw a rock which hit him in the face. The person accused was McKesson. The officer named him along with his group.

A federal judge dismissed the case and pointed out that the Black Lives Matter is a social movement which cannot be sued and cited that the officer could not even explain fully how the activist started acting violently.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the accusation, Pirro declared that McKesson was the organizer and was directing the protesters to ignite the violence. She said that the police officer was injured at the instructions of McKesson. Now, McKesson has a hundred thousand dollars for an unstructured organization.

McKesson argues that due to Pirro’s statements, his safety was compromised and wants to receive a settlement of damages in court. He emphasizes that he wasn’t found guilty of orchestrating violence. In fact, he was protesting against the police violence. He tweeted for Pirro to stop lying.

In response, Pirro said that she was describing the details from the police officer’s lawsuit when she said those comments. McKesson argued that she was describing the information as facts. He adds that she made these false accusations in Fox & Friends, the highest viewed morning cable program in the U.S.  The show reached more than 1.7 million audiences.

Fox News replied saying that they will fight against the lawsuit. The news network said that their news commentary is protected by the First Amendment which allows them to report judicial proceedings. A newspaper article referred to the network’s show as being efficient in race-baiting issues that is quite common in their opinion programs.

Read the original news via NY Daily News.