Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has requested to join the defense in a defamation lawsuit against state Senate president pro tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, brought by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Jones.
Griffin moved to intervene on Friday in a case over a post that Hester made about Jones on X, formerly Twitter, in May.
Jones claims the state law at the center of the case is unconstitutional. In instances like this, the attorney general is “entitled to be heard” on behalf of the state, he argued in the filing.
“Absent the Attorney General’s intervention, the disposition of this case could impair or impede the ability of the State to protect its interests,” Griffin said in his filing.
What is the lawsuit about?
In early May, Jones said in a post that, “We would do well to NOT ignore” pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses.
Hester responded by saying that Jones was “taking a Pro Hamas Terrorist position” and that he “may want to take a knee to terrorist sympathizers.”
A little over a week later, Jones filed a complaint alleging “internet defamation,” saying that Hester’s post had been viewed by “at least 50,000 people, many of whom are registered to vote with the Arkansas Secretary of State.”
Jones argued that Hester’s post was a “statement of fact – not opinion,” made “in his capacity as a private citizen – not as a public official,” and that it was false and damaging to Jones’ reputation.
“Politicians who identify as “extreme MAGA conservatives” have consistently used the term “pro-Hamas” to inflict political damage on their opponents,” Jones’ complaint reads.
Hester said in a June motion to dismiss that his post was both protected by the Citizen Participation in Government Act as a “privileged communication” and was not defamatory — that is, not false and/or not damaging.
An attorney for Jones and a representative from the attorney general’s office declined to comment and Hester didn't respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
What does the law say?
Hester’s defense rests on the Citizen Participation in Government Act of 2019, an anti-SLAPP, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” law meant to expand free speech protections by broadly shielding against liability for defamation.
“Strategic lawsuits against political participation can effectively punish concerned citizens for exercising the constitutional right to speak,” the law reads.
The act protects “any” statement made in "connection with an issue under consideration or review by a legislative, executive, or judicial body, or other body authorized by a state, regional, county, or municipal government” or in "the proper discharge of an official duty.”
Jones claims the law is unconstitutional because it preempts judicial authority to set rules and disrupts the separation of powers.
His complaint cites a 2021 ruling in another defamation case, in which a circuit court judge ruled that the law's “verification requirements and the provisions related to sanctions and automatic stays… are procedural rules that violate… the Arkansas Constitution.”
Jones also claims that Hester’s post was not a “privileged communication” under the Citizen Participation in Government Act because Hester knew or did not care whether it was false and because Hester didn’t claim to have the authority "to speak on the state’s behalf ... regarding Dr. Jones’ views about student protests," which would each disqualify his statement from protection.
"This lawsuit seeks to hijack a protected discussion about matters of public concern from Twitter ... to this Court’s docket in a transparent attempt at a quick political gain," Hester's attorneys said in another June filing that. "The Complaint may make for splashy headlines and be good fodder for political fundraising ... but the facts alleged here do not give rise to an actionable legal claim by Chris Jones."
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin seeks to join defense in defamation suit
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