(Capstone Report) — Russell Moore faces lawsuit for libel, false invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress for spreading alleged lies about SBC Pastor Mike Stone.
Mike Stone filed a defamation lawsuit against Russell Moore in US District Court in Nashville Monday, October 18, 2021. Stone claims Moore spread malicious information in retaliation for Stone’s investigation into the ERLC.
According to the lawsuit filing reviewed by the Capstone Report, “Defendant’s malicious campaign against Plaintiff was motivated in part by Defendant’s desire to retaliate against Plaintiff for his service on the aforementioned task force of the Executive Committee and to compromise its investigation into the ERLC by obfuscating pertinent facts.”
Stone claims Russell Moore’s targeted release of two false letters were an intentional action to harm Stone’s reputation prior to the election of the Southern Baptist Convention president.
“The actions of Defendant in orchestrating and propagating an intentional, coordinated, and malicious campaign to defame Plaintiff and cast Plaintiff in a false light before the Southern Baptist community and the public at large have been designed to intentionally inflict mental anguish and severe emotional distress upon Plaintiff, as well as tarnish Plaintiff’s reputation within the religious community and jeopardize Plaintiff’s future earning capacity, through the publication of false and highly offensive material within the SBC, entities affiliated with the SBC, the news media, and elsewhere.
Mike Stone alleges Russell Moore leveraged his position as ERLC head and a well-known evangelical published by Never Trump outlets like the Washington Post, The New York Times and CNN to spread the malicious smear against Mike Stone.
