May 28 – A North Idaho jury last week awarded a drag performer more than $1 million in damages after finding that a local conservative blogger had defamed him.
The jury unanimously found that blogger Summer Bushnell defamed Eric Posey, a Post Falls resident who performs as Mona Liza Million, when Bushnell falsely claimed he exposed his genitals during an appearance at Coeur d’Alene’s Pride in the Park in 2022.
“As humans, we must first learn to love before change happens. It is everyone’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction,” Posey said in a statement after the sentencing. “I am so grateful that the jury was considerate and that they rejected the lies that put me in a dark position for almost two years.”
Jurors awarded Posey $926,000 in compensatory damages, along with another $250,000 in punitive damages, finding that Bushnell knew her accusations were false when she made them, or that the accusations were made with reckless disregard for the truth.
“Can this man be arrested for exposing his genitals to minors?” Bushnell wrote in a Facebook post, according to Posey’s complaint.
She manages the Bushnell Report, which describes itself as providing “North Idaho News from a freedom and liberty perspective,” according to its website.
Bushnell posted her claims online and edited a video in which Posey’s pelvic area was blurred. It went viral, especially in conservative circles. Her claims prompted a police investigation that found Posey had not exposed herself. Prosecutors declined to press charges.
The Pride in the Park event was already national news when dozens of members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front were arrested on their way to the celebration.
Posey sued Bushnell for defamation in September 2022. The jury sided with Posey last week after a five-day trial.
“This is a jury of 12 Kootenai County community members who unanimously found that Ms. Bushnell defamed Mr. Posey,” Posey’s attorney, Wendy Olson, said in an interview Tuesday. “It sends the message that the truth matters and the facts matter, and you can’t dehumanize and vilify someone just to serve your own ends.”
Defamation requires significant evidence in court, Olson noted. This case is unique because it involves non-traditional media and social media posts, she said.
The ruling says that even in this new media landscape, “juries will be concerned, especially about statements accusing people of a crime. (They) must have facts to support them.”
“There’s a potential to really do a lot of harm to someone,” Olson said.
Bushnell’s attorney, D. Colton Boyles, did not respond to request for comment.
Boyles told jurors that his client’s allegations were “close to the border” but did not cross the line into defamation, The Coeur d’Alene Press reported.
Boyles said Bushnell’s “honest belief” is that Posey exposed herself, although she admitted on the witness stand that she never saw the “fully exposed genitals” she described to others, according to The Press.
Bushnell’s attorney, Boyles, has his own ties to the far right.
In an Epoch Times documentary, Boyles promoted deep state conspiracy theories about child protective services, calling it “a state and federally funded kidnapping system.” In 2021, Boyles donated $500 to Post Falls School Board candidate David Reilly, a former radio host who has expressed anti-Semitic views and attended the 2017 white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The jury asked the judge if they could order Bushnell to delete her posts about Posey and demand an apology. The judge said they could not add those requirements, according to The Coeur d’Alene Press.
Bushnell posted an article about the verdict on her Facebook page, but otherwise did not publicly acknowledge the ruling.
“It’s a pretty clear signal that the jury believed Ms. Bushnell had harmed Mr. Posey,” Olson said.
Many of Bushnell’s claims remain online, Olson said. Every day the falsehoods remain on its website and social media pages, Bushnell continues to discredit Posey.
An apology and removing the claims from her website would make a big difference, Olson said.
“Mr. Posey has suffered tremendous damage over the past two years,” Olson said. “It changed his life forever and that information will be on the internet forever. That’s why I think a public apology, which would also be on the internet forever, would be helpful.”
After reading the verdict, jurors met Posey outside the courthouse to hug or shake hands.
“I’m really glad you got the justice you deserve,” one juror said as he hugged Posey, The Press reported.
“I’m so sorry you went through this,” said another juror.
The verdict is also a statement about society and what is acceptable, Posey said in his statement.
“To the beautiful, beautiful state of Idaho and to all my fellow Gems, no matter the disagreements or opinions, I love you all. There is a lot of work to be done, and I apologize that our state was connected to such vile lies” , Posey said. “I hope everyone will live a life of love, kindness and respect. Light will always replace darkness.”
