A right-wing website that spread false claims of election fraud against two former Fulton County poll workers has settled a defamation lawsuit filed by the women.
The settlement was filed in a St. Louis, Mo., circuit court, where Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss had sued The Gateway Pundit, an influential site that shared false and misleading information about the 2020 election. The terms of the deal were not made public.
We “respectfully provide notice to the court that the parties have reached agreement to settle all claims and counterclaims asserted” in the case, attorneys for Freeman, Moss and The Gateway Pundit stated in a joint notice of settlement, news of which was first reported by The Guardian.
In a statement, Freeman and Moss’ legal team said the dispute “has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement.”
Freeman and Moss counted ballots at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on election night in 2020. They endured death threats and racist harassment after the Trump campaign seized on security cam footage that they falsely claimed showed Freeman and Moss counting “suitcases” of fraudulent ballots.
The Gateway Pundit was the first outlet to identify Freeman and Moss by name and continued to publish false posts about the mother and daughter months and even years after election officials debunked the claims and cleared them of wrongdoing. The site filed for bankruptcy in April to try and fend off the compensatory and punitive damages Freeman and Moss were seeking.
Late last year, the election workers won a $148 million defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump’s onetime personal attorney who spread false allegations about them following the 2020 election. Giuliani also has filed for bankruptcy.
Freeman and Moss also won an undisclosed settlement from One America News Network two years ago. As part of the settlement, the right-wing network admitted there was no evidence they committed fraud.
Several people accused of threatening Freeman and Moss, including an Illinois pastor and former hip-hop publicist who visited Freeman’s house, were charged with racketeering and other felonies as part of the Fulton County election interference case spearheaded by District Attorney Fani Willis. Giuliani was also charged in the case.
Staff writer David Wickert contributed to this story.
