'I've always despised bullies': The attorneys bringing conspiracy theorists to justice

Far-right conspiracy theorists have existed in the Republican Party for generations but, in the past, they weren't as prominent as they are now.

The late National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. famously shunned the far-right John Birch Society during the 1960s and 1970s, making it abundantly clear that he thought they were terrible for the conservative movement. In contrast, The Bulwark is one of the few right-wing publications that, in 2024, is openly, unapologetically critical of former President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement — and The Bulwark's Never Trump conservatives don't hesitate to call out conspiracy theorists like Infowars' Alex Jones.

Conspiracy theorists can do a lot of damage, especially when people who buy into them resort to violence, threats or intimidation.

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A New York Times article describes efforts to use defamation law to make conspiracy theorists pay a price financially and legally for the problems they cause.

The examples described range from Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss suing former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to the Sandy Hook families suing Jones.

"Payouts have been particularly large for defamation cases against the right," it explains. "In January, the lawyer Roberta Kaplan defeated former President Donald J. Trump in court when a jury ordered him to pay $83 million for defaming her client, E. Jean Carroll, a writer he sexually abused. Last year, lawyers from the firm Susman Godfrey secured a $787.5 million settlement for Dominion Voting Systems from Fox News, one of the biggest ever in a defamation case, after Fox aired bogus theories falsely linking the company to election fraud."

Williamson adds, "In late 2022, Sandy Hook families defamed by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones won a total of nearly $1.5 billion from juries in Texas and Connecticut, though Mr. Jones has yet to pay them anything."

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The report cites Michael J. Gottlieb, who represented Freeman and Moss, as an attorney who has been especially aggressive when it comes to suing conspiracy theorists.

Gottlieb told the Times, "I've always despised bullies that pick on defenseless or seemingly defenseless people. There are so many ways to make your political points without endangering individual people's lives."