The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing conspiracy-peddling website, has reached a settlement with two election workers who sued it for defamation.
The Circuit Court of St. Louis’ 22nd Judicial Circuit verified the joint settlement notice and motion to vacate the trial on Oct. 7. The motion to stay the proceedings is pending the satisfaction of the settlement agreement, according to court documents.
Plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea Moss sued brothers Jim and Joe Hoft who operate the Gateway Pundit after the website falsely claimed the two Georgia election workers committed election fraud.
The Gateway Pundit: “endlessly repeated accusations that Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss committed election fraud by, among other things, conspiring to empty the room where they were counting ballots of poll watchers, producing secret ‘suitcases’ full of illegal ballots and running those ballots through vote counting machines multiple times,” according to court filings.
These claims were “publicly and definitively refuted” by Georgia election officials.
“Defendants’ reports were both false and consequential,” according to the filing. “They caused Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss to be vilified on social media and subjected to an onslaught of violent, racist threats and harassment of all kinds. At the height of defendants’ campaign of disinformation, Ms. Freeman, at the recommendation of the FBI, fled her home and did not return for two months.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, a crowd surrounded Freeman’s house. Freeman was forced to shutter her online business after social media became impossible to navigate, according to the filing. On at least two occasions, strangers showed up at her grandmother’s house to make a “citizen’s arrest.”
“As a result of defendants’ ongoing campaign, both women are afraid to live normal lives. Ms. Freeman is fearful when she hears her name called in public; Ms. Moss now fears risking even a visit to the grocery store and must get her groceries delivered instead,” according to the filing. “Defendants have inflicted and continue to inflict severe and ongoing emotional and economic damage on both plaintiffs.”
In the highly publicized lawsuit, Freeman and Moss’ attorneys argued the Gateway Pundit intentionally published known falsehoods destroying the lives of Freeman and Moss.
The lawsuit was filed in 2021 and the Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy during the course of the litigation, but the claim was dismissed in August of this year.
The terms of the settlement have not been released and attorneys have asked that proceedings to determine the satisfaction of the agreement resume on March 29, 2025.
The plaintiff’s legal team declined to specify the details of the settlement and released the following short statement to Missouri Lawyers Media:
“The dispute between the parties has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement.”
Attorneys for the defense did not respond for comment as of publication.
The case is Ruby Freeman et al v. James Hoft et al, Case no: 2122-CC09815-01.