(The Center Square) — A lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania state senator over defamation is being challenged by one of the defendants.
Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is a former GOP gubernatorial candidate, sued James Gregory Jr. in May of this year after he discovered and reported more than 200 instances of potential academic misconduct in the PhD dissertation of Mastriano about World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, filed a motion Thursday to throw out the lawsuit against the former Oklahoma historian, current LSU adjunct professor and William A. Brookshire Military Museum curator.
Mastriano also sued on federal claims ranging from RICO to antitrust violations. The senator is seeking at least $10 million in damages from a Canadian university and nearly two dozen academics for similar claims according to ABC News.
Because these concerns were raised in Oklahoma, the suit is to be handled in a Sooner State court.
FIRE argues the case violates an Oklahoma law against lawsuits designed to stifle public debate, that it makes a defamation claim that isn’t legally viable, and that Mastriano is trying to stretch antitrust and racketeering laws “beyond recognition to silence critics of his scholarship.”
The senior attorney at FIRE, Greg Greubel, told The Center Square this is a First Amendment issue.
“The First Amendment means all Americans have the right to criticize public officials, no matter how angry that criticism makes them,” Greubel said. “Politicians should be concerned about legislating for the people, not suing critics when their feelings get hurt.”
Gregory also defended his work, and has confidence the case will be thrown out.
“Historians arrive at the truth by debating ideas, inviting skepticism, and challenging assumptions and sources. By trying to silence that debate, Mastriano is literally on the wrong side of history — and history will prevail,” Gregory said.
The FIRE website says Mastriano’s lawsuit is a textbook example of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, also known as a “SLAPP.” SLAPP suits are intended to deter someone’s speech by forcing them to get in costly and time-consuming legal battles.