Facebook is being asked to pay billions of dollars by Laura Loomer, a self-described “conservative investigative journalist” who says her life is in danger due to being recently banned from the social network and its sister service, Instagram.
Ms. Loomer filed a defamation lawsuit in Miami federal court Monday seeking more than $3 billion in punitive damages stemming from Facebook’s decision to punt her from its platforms.
Along with Infowars publisher Alex Jones and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Ms. Loomer was among a handful of users booted by Facebook on May 2 for violating the company’s rules prohibiting “dangerous” individuals and organizations accused of promoting or engaging in violence or hate.
Larry Klayman, a conservative activist and lawyer representing Ms. Loomer in the lawsuit, claimed that Facebook made “malicious, false and defamatory statements” by labeling his client as dangerous.
“There is nothing dangerous, violent, or remotely illegal and improper about Ms. Loomer’s conduct,” Mr. Klayman wrote in the lawsuit.
Facebook declined to comment on the lawsuit when reached by The Washington Times this week.
A right-wing activist previously affiliated with Project Veritas and Rebel Media, Ms. Loomer claimed on her website this week to be “the most banned woman in the world.” She was barred in late 2017 from booking rides using the Uber and Lyft apps after publicly complaining about the companies allowing Muslim drivers, and she was suspended from Twitter in November after criticizing Rep. Ilan Omar, Minnesota Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Ms. Loomer was booted from PayPal in February, and she claims on her website to have been banned by the likes of Venmo, GoFundMe and Medium, among others.
Reacting to the Facebook ban, Mr. Klayman argued in the lawsuit that labeling Ms. Loomer as dangerous has put her life at risk.
“Loomer has been severely harmed and damaged by these and other false and misleading statements by Defendant Facebook, because they subjected her to hatred, distrust, ridicule, contempt and disgrace, and the threat of severe bodily injury or death by those who are now lead to believe that she is dangerous and a domestic terrorist against Muslims in particular,” Mr. Klayman said. “Muslims and other extremists thus are now prone to retaliate against her and her life is in mortal danger.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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