A transgender woman who was erroneously identified as a helicopter pilot involved in the Washington DC crash that killed 67 people has filed a lawsuit against one of the conservative influencers who spread the false claims about her.
Jo Ellis, whom the Guardian wrote about after she was thrust into the spotlight, is suing Matthew Wallace, the person behind the X account, for defamation, claiming Wallace “concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” that monetized a “false narrative” about her.
Ellis is represented by the Equality Legal Action Fund. The suit was filed in federal court in Colorado, where Wallace is believed to live.
The 29 January crash – where a helicopter hit a commercial airplane – led to a swarm of claims that diversity was to blame. Ellis, who was not involved in the crash in any way, is a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia national guard. To dispel the rumors, she posted a video showing she was alive, effectively refuting the claims because all involved in the crash had died.
At the time, her name was trending on X. Wallace’s posts to his more than 2 million followers about Ellis, naming her as the pilot and in some cases including her photo, received millions of views, the suit notes. It doesn’t appear Wallace started the rumor, but he amplified it considerably.
Meg Phelan, Ellis’s attorney, said Wallace is believed to be the first person to have shared Ellis’s likeness, though tracking social media posts has been difficult because many were subsequently deleted.
“He was one of the largest platforms with the most followers to really publicize this and put it out there, and so that it went viral. It seemed very strategic, so that was really why we zeroed in on Matt Wallace,” Phelan said.
As a result, Ellis has received threats, including “credible death threats”, and hateful messages, many of which are transphobic, the suit claims. “Gaining infamy overnight caused Plaintiff and her family tremendous suffering,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff was devastated that her story was overshadowing the tragic events of the plane crash and likely causing more suffering for the families who lost their loved ones. She also feared for her safety and for the safety of her family.”
Ellis told the Guardian that her life “was turned upside down and forever changed” by the threats.
“Too many times do people who have big platforms get to do this to innocent people and drag them through the mud and get away with it,” Ellis said. “And I have a unique opportunity to actually hold someone accountable. So I feel strongly about free speech, but I also feel strongly about consequences to free speech when you use it to stir up a mob and impact someone’s life.”
Wallace issued tweets to “correct” the false information after Ellis posted her proof-of-life video, but the lawsuit categorizes them as “making excuses for creating viral lies”.
Ellis was previously a private citizen, but was “forced into the public sphere and can no longer remain a private citizen” because of Wallace, the suit claims.
She still serves in the Virginia national guard and her increased public profile creates safety concerns for herself and her family.
“Sadly, my life is just different entirely, because when I move through life now, I’m recognized,” Ellis said. “I’m not too far from DC, so if I go up there, people recognize me, and I kind of have to look over my shoulder because of the anti-trans rhetoric. I don’t know if I’m going to be recognized by someone who’s friendly or someone who doesn’t like the fact that I’m in the military and I’m trans.”
Ellis said she would donate any monetary damages she received in the case to the families of the crash victims.
