Troy Smocks, who was sentenced to 14 months in prison for threats he posted on the now-off-line conservative platform Parler, is suing Parler for $370 million(opens in a new tab).
Parler banned Smocks after calling for violence following the January 6, 2021 riot. “In the next 24 hours I would say: let’s.” [sic] Put our personal affairs in order. Prepare our weapons and then get them,” he wrote on Jan. 7. “Let’s hunt down these cowards like the traitors they each are.” This includes RINOS, Dems and Tech Execs. Now we have the green light.”
A lawyer used ChatGPT for legal filing. The chatbot cited non-existent cases it just made up
In October 2021, Smocks pleaded guilty(opens in a new tab) convicted of interstate threats and was convicted. As Gizmodo first reported, Smocks is now suing Parler(opens in a new tab) for banning him from following the comments. The complaint alleges that Parler banned him for his political views and support for Donald Trump, in violation of a Texas law(opens in a new tab) This prohibits platforms from banning users based on political beliefs. Specifically, he’s suing Parler, former CEO John Matze, and right-wing billionaire Rebekah Mercer(opens in a new tab)who co-founded the platform.
The lawsuit makes no mention of the threats Smocks made to Parler, and the Texas law cited makes an exception for statements that “directly incite criminal activity or consist of concrete threats of violence,” Gizmodo reports.
Matze told Gizmodo that the lawsuit had not been officially served on him and that he had not heard of Smocks before the case. He said: “From what I’ve read, I feel like he’s having trouble accepting his own life choices and is trying to blame others.”
