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Military pilot Jo Ellis is suing the right-wing influencer who claimed she was flying the helicopter that collided with the commercial plane in D.C. in January
Transgender military pilot is suing right-wing influencer on a claim of defamation after he falsely claimed she was the pilot involved in the between an Army helicopter and a commercial American Airlines flight in Washington, D.C.
According to , the 35-year-old National Guard pilot filed the defamation lawsuit on Wednesday, April 9, and claimed that Wallace “concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” against her.
The filings also confirmed that Ellis is seeking monetary damages, and she told she plans to donate the money to the families of
“I want to hold this person accountable for what they did to me,” Ellis told NBC News in a statement. “It’s become too common that people can say horrible things about someone, profit at their expense, and get away with it.”
According to the lawsuit, Wallace allegedly initially shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) to his 2.2 million followers on Jan. 30 that falsely claimed the helicopter pilot who flew the day of the crash was transgender and included a photo of Ellis.
While Wallace deleted the first post after it went viral, he shared two more posts that falsely linked Ellis to the crash. One of the posts alluded Ellis was a part of “another trans terror attack” and ended up receiving 4.8 million views online.
After the false claims went viral online, Ellis posted a "proof of life" video on her personal on Jan. 31 and confirmed the claims were "false."
“It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda," she said in her video. "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.”
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After Ellis' statement, NBC News also reported that Wallace shared her video on X as an "important update" and confirmed to his followers that she was not the pilot involved in the crash. He later wrote that the rumors “seemed credible” because Ellis “wrote an article calling out Trump’s trans military ban only a few days ago.”
PEOPLE reached out to Jo Ellis and Matt Wallace for additional comment, but neither immediately responded to the request.
Since the crash, confirmed to reporters that the three people who were on the Black Hawk were “fairly experienced crew” and the Army identified them as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara and Capt. Rebecca Lobach.
Transgender military pilot is suing right-wing influencer on a claim of defamation after he falsely claimed she was the pilot involved in the between an Army helicopter and a commercial American Airlines flight in Washington, D.C.
According to , the 35-year-old National Guard pilot filed the defamation lawsuit on Wednesday, April 9, and claimed that Wallace “concocted a destructive and irresponsible defamation campaign” against her.
The filings also confirmed that Ellis is seeking monetary damages, and she told she plans to donate the money to the families of
“I want to hold this person accountable for what they did to me,” Ellis told NBC News in a statement. “It’s become too common that people can say horrible things about someone, profit at their expense, and get away with it.”
According to the lawsuit, Wallace allegedly initially shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) to his 2.2 million followers on Jan. 30 that falsely claimed the helicopter pilot who flew the day of the crash was transgender and included a photo of Ellis.
While Wallace deleted the first post after it went viral, he shared two more posts that falsely linked Ellis to the crash. One of the posts alluded Ellis was a part of “another trans terror attack” and ended up receiving 4.8 million views online.
After the false claims went viral online, Ellis posted a "proof of life" video on her personal on Jan. 31 and confirmed the claims were "false."
“It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda," she said in her video. "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.”
Related:
After Ellis' statement, NBC News also reported that Wallace shared her video on X as an "important update" and confirmed to his followers that she was not the pilot involved in the crash. He later wrote that the rumors “seemed credible” because Ellis “wrote an article calling out Trump’s trans military ban only a few days ago.”
PEOPLE reached out to Jo Ellis and Matt Wallace for additional comment, but neither immediately responded to the request.
Since the crash, confirmed to reporters that the three people who were on the Black Hawk were “fairly experienced crew” and the Army identified them as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara and Capt. Rebecca Lobach.
