“NYCGayDad” files defamation lawsuit against white supremacist Stew PetersBrooklyn widower was attacked online in homophobic rant
August 1, 2024 – Social media personality José Rolón is suing Stew Peters, a right-wing internet commentator, for defamation and bias-related intimidation after Peters posted a hate-filled tirade online inciting others to attack Rolón and his family. The lawsuit against Peters and his company was filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County (Brooklyn) by C.A. Goldberg, PLLC, a victims’ rights law firm specialized in representing victims of defamation, stalking, sexual assault, and extreme injuries facilitated by online platforms.
The five-count lawsuit enumerates all the defamatory statements made by Peters against Rolón, and also sues him for bias-related intimidation under New York Civil Rights Law. The lawsuit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, legal costs, and disgorgement of all financial gains from harassing Rolón. As stated in the complaint, “Stewart Peters is an American alt-right internet personality, conspiracy theorist, and political commentator. He regularly promotes anti-LGBTQ+ and white supremacist beliefs and has engaged in Holocaust denial.”
“The sort of harassment and incitement my client and his young family suffered may be celebrated online, but a Brooklyn jury will look at it very, very differently,” said Carrie Goldberg, the firm’s founder. “Peters may be tempted to double down in retaliation for my client availing himself of the courts, but that will just increase the damages we seek.”
Rolón is a Brooklyn-based wedding planner who is raising his three children alone after the death of his husband ten years ago. Under the handle @nycgaydad, he posts fun and light-hearted videos about the joys and challenges of being a gay single father.
On February 23rd, Rolón woke up to discover that his social media accounts had been tagged by Peters. In an hour-long video, Peters ranted about homosexuality and, without a shred of evidence, accused Rolón of sexually abusing his own children. Peters also tagged the New York Police Department and pressured the agency to investigate Rolón. Peters was later forced to take down the videos after Rolón’s attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter.
The lawsuit states “Peters stirs up user engagement across [the 1.6 million followers on his] platforms by convincing his followers that Christian Americans are under attack by Jews, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups, often unleashing a frenzy on specific individuals who are representative of those communities, such as small-town mayors who allow Pride parades.”
Goldberg noted, “There’s a responsibility that comes with having as far a reach as Peters has. Our country has fought hard for First Amendment protections. But free speech never extends to inciting people to harass private citizens and make hoax police reports against them.”
“It just takes one rogue believer to upend a life,” she added. “I represented victims at the center of the ‘Pizzagate’ scandal when a believer shot up the restaurant to free purported babies from a nonexistent basement.”
-30-
C.A. Goldberg, PLLC, (Brooklyn, New York) litigates against big tech and powerful predators at work, home, school, and online. The firm is made up of a dozen legal professionals representing victims of sexual assault and abuse, blackmail, sextortion, revenge porn, stalking, intimate partner violence, and related crimes. Principal Carrie Goldberg, Esq. has a long history representing clients harmed by the most powerful companies and predators. She is the author of the harrowing memoir “Nobody’s Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls” (2019 New York Times Editor’s Choice). Goldberg and Senior Associate Laura Hecht-Felella are the lead attorneys on this case.
MEDIA INQUIRIES AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
khutt@nautiluscommunications.com
LEGAL INQUIRIES: