A former executive at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems filed a federal defamation lawsuit Wednesday against far-right talk show host Clay Clark, as well as his ReAwaken America Tour and ThriveTime show.
The suit alleges that the defendants, through the traveling tour and a series of nationally published interviews, “monetized a false election fraud narrative” and “prompted a constant drumbeat of outright falsehoods intended to place (Eric) Coomer at the center of an imagined conspiracy to defraud the American people.”
Coomer, the former director of strategy and security for Dominion, has been the target of unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The allegations originated with prominent right-wing activist Joe Oltmann, a Coloradan.
Oltmann alleged Coomer said on a Zoom call involving members of antifa that he had made sure Trump would not win the election. Coomer has denied the accusation and is suing Coomer and others in Denver District Court for alleged defamation.
The latest lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges that Clark continues to falsely accuse Coomer of criminal conduct “on a historically unprecedented scale.”
The false claims about Coomer originated in December 2020, according to the lawsuit, during a podcast interview between Clark and Oltmann in which Clark said Coomer “could/should be put to death” for treason. The episode was titled “Exposing the Treasonous Eric Coomer the ANTIFA Member and the Director Of Strategy and Security at DOMINION Voting Systems.”
Clark’s ReAwaken America Tour, which is operated by Make Your Life Epic LLC, another defendant in the lawsuit, livestreams all of its tour events online to a national audience. It features promoters of the QAnon conspiracy, vaccine skeptics, conservative political activists and election fraud conspiracy theorists.
Clark is the founder of the ReAwaken America Tour, which makes stops in various cities across the county, selling tickets for $250. Dozens of people who attended the ReAwaken Tour in Dallas, Texas, earlier this month became sick and are now claiming they were poisoned with anthrax.
Efforts to reach Clark, who lives in Oklahoma, and the ReAwaken American Tour on Thursday were unsuccessful.
Clark’s accusations made against Coomer are “all outright and unequivocal falsehoods” and he did not rig the election, the lawsuit states.
As a result of the alleged defamation, Coomer’s reputation is “irreparably tarnished.” Coomer claims he can no longer work in the elections industry and that he frequently receives death threats.
Coomer’s lawyers are requesting Clark immediately and publicly retract all defamatory statements and threats.The federal lawsuit is similar to a previous suit filed by Coomer against Oltmann, former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, lawyers associated with Trump, and various conservative media outlets.
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