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Jill Hines and Jim Hoft outside the US Supreme Court in March ’24

A federal court from the Western Division of Louisiana denied the Stanford Internet Observatory, Atlantic Council, Aspen Institute, and Graphika’s attempt to dismiss America First Legal’s class action lawsuit for conspiring with the U.S. government to conduct targeted surveillance and censor conservative political speech.

America First Legal announced the latest victory on Friday afternoon.

On May 2, 2023, AFL filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Jill Hines, co-director of Health Freedom Louisiana, and Jim Hoft, founder of The Gateway Pundit, against entities associated with the so-called “Election Integrity Partnership” and the “Virality Project.”

America First Legal (AFL) filed the lawsuit against the entities associated with the so-called “Virality Project” and “Election Integrity Project.”  These groups conspired with the federal government to censor conservative political speech. (content from AFL X account)

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The lawsuit filed in 2023 alleges that these academic institutions, nonprofits, and researchers conspired with the federal government to surveil and censor conservative political speech regarding COVID-19 and elections on social media platforms.

Amid AFL’s lawsuit and Rep. Jim_Jordan’s investigation as Chairman of the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, the Stanford Internet Observatory was shut down in June 2024, and the Election Integrity Partnership did not operate during the 2024 election cycle.

The defendants moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over them. In other words In other words, the defendants argued that the plaintiffs failed to allege sufficient facts showing that the defendants have enough of a connection to Louisiana for the court to exercise jurisdiction.

The court disagreed.

This week, the court denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss the case, affirming that AFL’s allegations are substantial and warrant further examination. AFL can now engage in discovery into the defendants’ actions targeting Louisiana and its residents.

AFL’s clients allege substantial contact, including coordination with state officials, having Louisiana citizens censored on various social media platforms, and assigning analysts to track “disinformation” originating in the state.

Defendants in this case include:

➡️ Stanford Internet Observatory

➡️ Stanford Internet Observatory Director Alex Stamos

➡️ Stanford Internet Observatory Research Manager Renée DiResta

➡️ Atlantic Research Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab

➡️ Aspen Institute

➡️ Dr. Kate Starbird of the University of Washington

➡️ Graphika

This ruling marks a critical step forward in our fight to deliver transparency and hold the entities and individuals who allegedly colluded with the federal government to censor Americans’ free speech accountable.

Thank you, America First Legal for your courage in taking on this battle for America’s future!