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USA Today
10-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Transgender pilot sues influencer for making claims she flew Black Hawk in DC crash
Transgender pilot sues influencer for making claims she flew Black Hawk in DC crash The lawsuit filed in a Colorado federal court also alleges Matt Wallace intentionally profited from the rumors he spread about Jo Ellis. Show Caption Hide Caption Radio issues, altitude possible factors in DC plane crash, NTSB says The NTSB cited key factors in January's midair collision between an Army Black Hawk and an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River. A transgender National Guard pilot has sued a right-wing influencer over false claims that she was involved in the Jan. 29 plane crash with a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. Jo Ellis, a Virginia Army National Guard helicopter pilot, filed the lawsuit in a Colorado federal court Wednesday against Matt Wallace, a cryptocurrency investor and social media personality. The day after the plane crash that killed 67 people, President Donald Trump blamed the accident on diversity efforts, although the investigation into the accident had just begun. The lawsuit states that Wallace's comments about Ellis started shortly thereafter. "(Wallace) knew the public wanted to blame someone for this unspeakable tragedy and he knew a transgender Black Hawk pilot was the perfect villain for his story," the complaint states. "Once Defendant planted his inane theory that the collision was intentionally caused by the helicopter and that the helicopter was piloted by Plaintiff, a transgender Black Hawk pilot, the theory went viral." Lawsuit alleges Wallace used X profile to profit from transphobic rumors Ellis woke up two days after the crash and was inundated with messages from people who thought she had perished in the flight, the lawsuit states. She also saw social media posts suggesting she had caused the collision. All three soldiers in the Army helicopter died in the crash. The lawsuit alleges Wallace profited from these rumors intentionally. "(Wallace) used his prominent X platform to monetize a false narrative that (Ellis) was not only one of the Army pilots involved in the mid-air collision, but also that she engaged in 'another trans terror attack' and intentionally caused the mid-air collision due to her 'depression' and 'Gender Dysphoria,'" the lawsuit states. After Ellis posted a video confirming she was alive and not involved in the crash, Wallace admitted she was not flying the helicopter, but continued to misgender her on social media, according to the lawsuit. Represented by the Equality Legal Action Fund, Ellis is seeking damages in the lawsuit. Wallace did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's social media request for comment. Jo Ellis caught in misinformation crosshairs after Trump's trans military ban The lawsuit says Ellis "was a private citizen who led a private life away from social media and the limelight." Ellis joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 2009, deployed in Iraq in 2011 and Kuwait in 2016, according to the lawsuit. Despite experiencing gender dysphoria symptoms at the age of 5, she didn't come out publicly as a woman until 2024, the lawsuit states. In a previous interview with USA TODAY, Ellis explained her decision came after her flight training evaluations, and that any DEI policies in the military wouldn't have helped her. 'There's no way any DEI policy could have benefited me if one exists,' she said. 'I don't know of any DEI policy that changes pilot standards. The standards are the same regardless of race, gender, etc." In a podcast released the morning of the plane crash, Ellis talked about her fear of not being able to serve after Trump's executive order banning transgender service members from the military. This executive order was temporarily blocked by two federal judges in March. Some of the false posts that came up after the plane crash said that Ellis had "anti-Trump views," but she said in an interview that she only opposed the military ban. 'I swore an oath to defend my country, and as an officer in the U.S. military, I will honor that oath regardless of who the president is,' Ellis said, as USA TODAY previously reported. 'I don't believe any personal political opinions impact the ability to do my job. I've served for 15 years under presidents and governors of both political parties without issue.' Contributing: Katie Smith Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trans pilot falsely blamed in Potomac plane crash sues conservative influencer
A transgender military pilot filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a conservative influencer who falsely claimed on social media that she was flying the helicopter that collided with a commercial jet near Reagan National Airport in January, killing 67 people. 'I want to hold this person accountable for what they did to me,' Jo Ellis, a pilot who has served more than 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, said in a statement to NBC News. 'It's become too common that people can say horrible things about someone, profit at their expense, and get away with it.' On Jan. 30, less than 24 hours after the crash, conservative influencer Matt Wallace, who has 2.2 million followers on the social media platform X, shared a post from another account he operates stating that the helicopter pilot was transgender, according to the lawsuit. Wallace included a photo of Ellis, and the post went viral, the lawsuit states. Wallace deleted that original post, according to the lawsuit, and then shared two others linking Ellis to the crash. One referred to an interview that Ellis did with The Smerconish Podcast, in which she said President Donald Trump's executive order barring trans people from serving and enlisting in the military made her nervous. The second post included photos of Ellis and said she might have participated in 'another trans terror attack,' according to the lawsuit. That post received 4.8 million views on X, the suit states. Wallace did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the allegations in the lawsuit. On Jan. 31, after Ellis learned about the rumors, she shared a 'proof of life' video on Facebook. 'I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C., and that is false,' Ellis said in the Facebook video. 'It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don't deserve that. I don't deserve this. And I hope that you all know that I am alive and well, and this should be sufficient for you all to end all the rumors.' Soon after Ellis' statement on Facebook, Wallace shared another X user's post with Ellis' video, writing that it was an 'Important Update!' and adding that Ellis was not piloting the helicopter and is still alive. Wallace also wrote in another X post that the original rumor that Ellis had been flying the helicopter involved in the crash came from another account with the handle @FakeGayPolitics, which is no longer active. Wallace said the rumor 'seemed credible' because Ellis, whom Wallace misgendered in his posts, 'wrote an article calling out Trump's trans military ban only a few days ago.' Ellis was not involved in the midair collision, the lawsuit states, did not write an article 'calling out' Trump's trans military ban and did not engage in 'another trans terror attack.' Equality Legal Action Fund, an LGBTQ legal organization representing Ellis, argues in the complaint that Wallace 'concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign' against Ellis. 'The damage caused to Plaintiff by Defendant was instantaneous and immense,' the lawsuit continues. 'Prior to Defendant's campaign, Plaintiff was a private citizen who led a private life away from social media and the limelight. When Plaintiff awoke on January 31, 2025, she discovered she was the second most-trending topic in the United States on X with more than 90,000 posts mentioning her name or her likeness. Plaintiff was forced into the public sphere and can no longer remain a private citizen due to Defendant's lies.' Ellis said her life was 'turned upside down' by Wallace's posts. 'I feared for the safety of my family and myself and had to arrange private armed security,' she said in her statement to NBC News. 'I'm now recognized in public and forever associated with that terrible tragedy over the Potomac. When I go out in public I have to look over my shoulder now.' Ellis' suit seeks damages for the injury to her reputation, though Ellis said she plans to donate any money that she wins from the suit to the families of the people who died in the crash. Trans people have increasingly been falsely blamed for tragedies and violence in recent years, particularly after mass shootings. Since 2022, false or unconfirmed claims have linked trans people to mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia; Madison, Wisconsin; and Des Moines, Iowa. In addition, since January, the Trump administration has enacted several policies targeting trans people, including the trans military ban, which states that being openly trans 'is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.' Two judges have temporarily blocked that policy from taking effect. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trans Pilot Sues Right-Wing Influencer Who Claimed She Caused Potomac Crash
Jo Ellis, a helicopter pilot in the Virginia Army National Guard, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against right-wing influencer Matt Wallace, saying he 'concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign' when he falsely identified her as the pilot in a deadly crash in January. The lawsuit from Ellis, who is transgender, seeks monetary damages from Wallace for spreading a lie to his millions of followers that Ellis was flying the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet above the Potomac River in January, killing all 67 people aboard both aircrafts. 'In the wake of this horrible tragedy, [Wallace] decided to exploit this devastation for clicks and money,' the lawsuit said, accusing him of capitalizing on the right-wing outrage fueled by President Donald Trump's blaming of diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices for the crash. '[A] transgender Black Hawk pilot seemed like the perfect target,' the lawsuit asserts, saying he went on to make several transphobic attacks on her. Wallace 'used his prominent X platform to monetize a false narrative that [Ellis] was not only one of the Army pilots involved in the mid-air collision, but also that she engaged in 'another trans terror attack' and intentionally caused the mid-air collision due to her 'depression' and 'Gender Dysphoria,'' the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado, states. Ellis' lawsuit was filed on her behalf by the Equality Legal Action Fund, which is made up largely of volunteer lawyers representing LGBTQ+ people in defamation and harassment lawsuits. By thrusting her into the public sphere, the lawsuit claims, Wallace disrupted Ellis' privacy and put her life at risk. 'Given her immediate notoriety and the fact that she is a transgender woman, she fears for the immediate safety of herself and her family on account of the hate inspired against her by [Wallace's] lies,' the complaint says. Ellis 'has been harassed, received credible death threats, been forced to hire a personal security detail, and began carrying a firearm for her own personal protection,' it continued. When Ellis posted a 'proof of life' video in response to the false rumors about her, Wallace defended himself by saying he wasn't the first account to spread the lie, which to him '[s]eemed credible because Jo Ellis wrote an article calling out Trump's trans military ban only a few days ago' and because '[t]here have been a lot of recent school shootings & attacks carried out by trans individuals,' which is not backed by any evidence. Wallace has not yet issued a public statement in response to the lawsuit. Trump Admin Pulls Research Funding To Protect Pregnant Women From Domestic Violence NTSB Urges Ban On Some Helicopter Flights At Washington Airport Where 67 People Died Trump Has Made Me Terrified For My Trans Son's Life, But There's 1 Thing I Won't Do To Save Him
NBC News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trans pilot falsely blamed in D.C. plane crash sues conservative influencer
A transgender military pilot filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a conservative influencer who falsely claimed on social media that she was flying the helicopter that collided with a commercial jet near Reagan National Airport in January, killing 67 people. 'I want to hold this person accountable for what they did to me,' Jo Ellis, a pilot who has served more than 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, said in a statement to NBC News. 'It's become too common that people can say horrible things about someone, profit at their expense, and get away with it.' On Jan. 30, less than 24 hours after the crash, conservative influencer Matt Wallace, who has 2.2 million followers on the social media platform X, shared a post from another account he operates stating that the helicopter pilot was transgender, according to the lawsuit. Wallace included a photo of Ellis, and the post went viral, the lawsuit states. Wallace deleted that original post, according to the lawsuit, and then shared two others linking Ellis to the crash. One referred to an interview that Ellis did with The Smerconish Podcast, in which she said President Donald Trump's executive order barring trans people from serving and enlisting in the military made her nervous. The second post included photos of Ellis and said she might have participated in 'another trans terror attack,' according to the lawsuit. That post received 4.8 million views on X, the suit states. Wallace did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the allegations in the lawsuit. On Jan. 31, after Ellis learned about the rumors, she shared a 'proof of life' video on Facebook. 'I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C., and that is false,' Ellis said in the Facebook video. 'It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don't deserve that. I don't deserve this. And I hope that you all know that I am alive and well, and this should be sufficient for you all to end all the rumors.' Soon after Ellis' statement on Facebook, Wallace shared another X user's post with Ellis' video, writing that it was an 'Important Update!' and adding that Ellis was not piloting the helicopter and is still alive. Wallace also wrote in another X post that the original rumor that Ellis had been flying the helicopter involved in the crash came from another account with the handle @FakeGayPolitics, which is no longer active. Wallace said the rumor 'seemed credible' because Ellis, whom Wallace misgendered in his posts, 'wrote an article calling out Trump's trans military ban only a few days ago.' Ellis was not involved in the midair collision, the lawsuit states, did not write an article 'calling out' Trump's trans military ban and did not engage in 'another trans terror attack.' Equality Legal Action Fund, an LGBTQ legal organization representing Ellis, argues in the complaint that Wallace 'concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign' against Ellis. 'The damage caused to Plaintiff by Defendant was instantaneous and immense,' the lawsuit continues. 'Prior to Defendant's campaign, Plaintiff was a private citizen who led a private life away from social media and the limelight. When Plaintiff awoke on January 31, 2025, she discovered she was the second most-trending topic in the United States on X with more than 90,000 posts mentioning her name or her likeness. Plaintiff was forced into the public sphere and can no longer remain a private citizen due to Defendant's lies.' Ellis said her life was 'turned upside down' by Wallace's posts. 'I feared for the safety of my family and myself and had to arrange private armed security,' she said in her statement to NBC News. 'I'm now recognized in public and forever associated with that terrible tragedy over the Potomac. When I go out in public I have to look over my shoulder now.' Ellis' suit seeks damages for the injury to her reputation, though Ellis said she plans to donate any money that she wins from the suit to the families of the people who died in the crash. Trans people have increasingly been falsely blamed for tragedies and violence in recent years, particularly after mass shootings. Since 2022, false or unconfirmed claims have linked trans people to mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia; Madison, Wisconsin; and Des Moines, Iowa. In addition, since January, the Trump administration has enacted several policies targeting trans people, including the trans military ban, which states that being openly trans 'is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.' Two judges have temporarily blocked that policy from taking effect.
New York Times
09-04-2025
- New York Times
Pilot Sues Influencer on X in Latest Test of Defamation Law
Two days after a helicopter collided with a passenger jet in Washington in January, killing 67 people, Jo Ellis woke up to a flurry of text messages. Ms. Ellis, a 35-year-old helicopter pilot in the Virginia Army National Guard, learned from friends that her name and photos were all over social media. Users were falsely naming her as the pilot who had crashed into a passenger jet on Jan. 29 — a sign, in the eyes of the online mob, that diversity initiatives had played a role in the crash because Ms. Ellis is transgender. She posted a 'proof of life' video on Facebook — emphasizing that she was very much alive and well in an attempt to slow the spread, but claims seemed to multiply. 'My life was turned upside-down at that point,' Ms. Ellis said in an interview, adding that her employer sent armed bodyguards to protect her family and she started carrying a loaded weapon as a precaution. 'Forever on, I'm known as 'that trans terrorist.'' Ms. Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against Matt Wallace, an influencer on X with more than two million followers. Mr. Wallace was one of the more prominent people to spread the falsehood in a series of posts that included photos of Ms. Ellis and details about her life. Mr. Wallace deleted his posts about Ms. Ellis after her Facebook video started spreading online. He posted an 'important update' on the afternoon of Jan. 31, writing that Ms. Ellis 'was not piloting the helicopter that crashed in to the plane and is still alive.' The filing claims that Mr. Wallace had 'concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign.' It was filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado, the state where Ms. Ellis's lawyers said Mr. Wallace resides, and seeks monetary damages to be determined at trial. Mr. Wallace did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is difficult for anyone targeted by digital misinformation to find recourse after lies spread about them online. Social media companies have softened their stance on content moderation in recent years, just as misinformation peddlers have become more prominent and closer to centers of power. At the same time, the idea that social media influencers could be held personally and financially liable through defamation law for spreading overtly false statements online has grown as one potential avenue for combating misinformation. 'This suit situates itself within a clear growing trend,' said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor of law at the University of Utah who focuses on defamation. 'This is all a relatively new and complicated use of defamation law: People victimized by viral conspiracy theories are increasingly attempting to use defamation law not just to remedy their own reputations but to correct the wider societal lie.' The approach was bolstered in recent years by successful defamation cases against much larger groups: In 2023, Dominion Voting Systems won a $787.5 million settlement against Fox News for spreading lies about its voting machines after the 2020 election. Families tied to the Sandy Hook school massacre sued Alex Jones, the fabulist behind Infowars, for defamation and won more than $1 billion in damages in 2022. There are fewer examples of such lawsuits against independent creators or social media influencers. Ms. Ellis's lawsuit was filed by the Equality Legal Action Fund, a group of mostly volunteer lawyers who defend L.G.B.T.Q. people against defamation and harassment. Such lawsuits face a number of constitutional and legal hurdles. Free speech laws are broad, making it difficult to prove defamation even when a falsehood is shared. In most cases it's up to the people who are defamed to prove that the speaker acted with deliberate malice instead of making a mistake. Ms. Ellis said that any financial compensation she may receive would be donated to the families of the victims in the crash. 'I believe in free speech, but I also believe in consequences to free speech,' Ms. Ellis said. 'If you can stir up a mob because you say something that's not true, that's your right. But once the mob comes after someone, you've got to have some consequences.' Speculation that a transgender pilot could have caused the collision on Jan. 29 emerged as a conspiracy theory almost immediately after a Black Hawk helicopter on a training exercise collided with a passenger jet over the Potomac River. Just days earlier, President Trump had signed an executive order attempting to bar transgender people from the military, prompting some users to speculate that the crash was an act of terrorism by an aggrieved transgender pilot. Mr. Trump continued to connect the crash to policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or D.E.I., for days afterward. Mr. Wallace was not the first person to target Ms. Ellis on X, according to a review of posts by The New York Times. The conversation around Ms. Ellis began on Jan. 30 and exploded through Jan. 31, becoming a trending topic on X with more than 90,000 posts by the second day, according to Trends24, a website that monitors social media. 'I've been a door gunner in a helicopter in Iraq during a combat zone, and I've been shot at in that same combat zone,' Ms. Ellis said. 'But even for me, having a magnifying glass placed on my personal life in the wake of that rumor had a real impact.'
