A drag queen won more than $1.1 million in damages after a jury in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, found conservative blogger Summer Bushnell guilty of defamation in a unanimous decision, the Coeur D'Alene Press reported.
The jurors granted drag queen Eric Posey of Post Falls $926,000 in compensatory damages for alleged defamation and an additional $250,000 in punitive damages after deciding that Bushnell made claims with "reckless disregard" for the truth, as she knew that her statements were false.
On June 11, 2022, the day of Posey's performance, Bushnell posted a video of herself talking about the arrest of dozens of Patriot Front members near City Park, as well as footage of Posey's performance.
"Why did no one arrest the man in a dress who flashed his genitalia to minors and people in the crowd?" Bushnell said in the video. "No one said anything about it and there's video. I'm going to put up a blurred video to prove it."
The next day, Bushnell posted an edited video that included a blur over Posey's pelvis. Bushnell told others that the blur concealed "fully exposed genitals" and said people should contact the police.
The video attracted thousands of views and led to a police investigation, after which city prosecutors stated publicly that the video showed no exposure and declined to file charges.
Attorney Colton Boyles, who represents Bushnell, said his client's allegations did not cross the line into defamation and maintained that Bushnell's "honest belief" is that Posey exposed himself, even though she admitted on the witness stand that she never saw the "fully exposed genitals."
Wendy Olsen, one of Posey's attorneys, said that "the jury's verdict demonstrates a clear message to this community that you have to be truthful. The jury did good, hard work. They rendered a tremendous service to the community."
Before returning the verdict, jurors had asked the court if they could direct Bushnell to take down her posts about Posey and publicly apologize to him, but the judge presiding over the trial indicated they could not, according to the Coeur D'Alene Press.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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