Judge rules libel lawsuit against Black Lives Matter can go forward

A California judge on March 3 allowed a lawsuit against Black Lives Matter Sacramento and codefendants to proceed, based on “BLM’s posting of racist emails purportedly sent to BLM” by the plaintiff, a Texas real estate investor named Karra Crowley.

Crowley filed a civil lawsuit against Black Lives Matter Sacramento and founder Tanya Faison early last year after the group posted racist, obscenity-laced, hate-filled emails – alleging they were from her – on the Black Lives Matter Sacramento Facebook page. The case and recent decision were discussed in coverage by Reason.

Crowley maintains that the Gmail address from which the emails were sent, [email protected], was not and has never been hers. She also claims that despite having contacted BLM and explained the fraud, which she has said she believes is the work of an angry tenant she evicted, BLM did not remove the phony emails and in fact vouched for their authenticity and urged its followers to spread, share and respond to them.

They went on to suggest that Karra Crowley “needs to be famous” along with their claim that her “information has been verified,” including her business and home addresses.

Crowley and her husband then suffered a torrent of leftist threats, abuse and harassment.

Crowley has evidence for her claim that the messages were actually sent by someone impersonating her. This person was later identified, as a result of a search warrant based on a criminal complaint, as likely to have been the plaintiff’s ex-tenant.

The lawsuit by Crowley and her husband seeks the removal of all related publications, posts and shares, from BLM Sacramento, and “anywhere else they may appear,” as well as $75,000 in compensatory and general damages, punitive damages, court costs, and “other such relief as the court deems proper.”

Karra Crowley said her family had lived in the Sacramento area for years before moving to Texas in 2005.