by @QueerSatanic

Federal judge in Washington State dismisses Salem, Mass., corp’s SLAPP suit for the second time

Seattle, Wash. – For the second time in nearly three years of litigation, a federal district court in
Washington State dismissed all claims made by The Satanic Temple against four of its former members.
The Court found that, the federal claims having been previously dismissed, it lacked jurisdiction to hear
The Satanic Temple’s remaining state law claims.

“We appreciate Judge Richard Jones confirming that the First Amendment still exists in this country,”
defendant David Johnson said. “Religions are not immune from public criticism.”

After a schism in March 2020 in the Washington State chapter, the Temple alleged that then-social
media manager Johnson used what had been the local chapter’s Facebook page to post criticism of the
Temple and how its leaders’ actions had not lived up to TST’s own stated tenets and values. This criticism
came in the form of news articles, other former member testimonies, and past actions by TST co-owners
Cevin Soling and Doug Misicko. Misicko has also used the public pseudonyms “Doug Mesner” and
“Lucien Greaves” for the Temple, while Soling initially used the pseudonym “Calvin Soling” for the lawsuit
and uses “Malcolm Jarry” for the Temple.

“We’re not the first people The Temple has tried to bully or abuse into silence,” defendant Leah
Fishbaugh said. “We were determined not to let The Satanic Temple intimidate us.”

In initial court filings, the Salem, Mass.-based for-profit corporation United Federation of Churches
LLC dba “The Satanic Temple” tried to allege they were victims of defamation. The court dismissed the
defamation claim with prejudice in February 2021 citing First Amendment protections, but the remaining
claims were dismissed with leave to re-file. TST did so in March 2021, adding new claims, revising others,
and dropping one. In April 2022, the Temple’s attempt at reconsideration failed and all remaining federal
claims also were dismissed. In June, TST’s lead counsel Matt Kezhaya admitted on his Reddit account
that he needed to come up with “a credible justification that it is not-impossible [sic] a jury could legally
award at least $75,000 in damages” and that he hoped legal defense costs squeezed “every last penny
from [the defendants’] living corpses, and anyone that gives [them] the time of day.”

“The Satanic Temple accused us of forming ‘a competitor organization’ to their religion based on a
Facebook comment saying, ‘The Satanic Temple 2: Electric Boogaloo,’ so the outcome was never really
in doubt,” defendant Nathan Sullivan said. “But, like the old saying, ‘You can beat the rap, but you can’t
beat the ride,’ this SLAPP suit did what it was supposed to do for them.”

SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” frivolous lawsuits with no legal merit
designed to threaten targets into not criticizing the plaintiff. Such lawsuits stifle public debate or dissent,
particularly when brought by well-resourced plaintiffs.

“This has been a strain on our families, on our personal relationships, on our financial security, and on
our physical and mental health,” defendant Leah Fishbaugh said. “I’m ready to finally have my life back.”

 
As of December 2022, total legal costs for the defendants exceeded $100,000.

Additional information

A non-defendant’s Facebook comment that was used as proof of “competitor organization”

Dkt# 26

                          

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