A Will County clerk’s office employee filed a lawsuit alleging New Lenox Township Trustee Patricia “Patty” Deiters published a fraudulent public Facebook post that defamed and incited harassment against her.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 9 by Ellen Moriarty, claims the Facebook page Will County Republican Women is operated by Deiters and published a screenshot of a post purportedly from Moriarty’s personal Facebook account.
The lawsuit alleges Moriarty never made the post and the alleged doctored image led “various third parties” to share the post at least 17 times and contact her employer with the intent of having her fired.
A screenshot of the post included in the lawsuit reads, “Too bad he missed!! A heroic effort, too bad he lost his life,” referring to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The lawsuit accuses Deiters of violating the Illinois Civil Liability for Doxing Act, a law that went into effect in January. The legislation, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker Aug. 4, 2023, makes anyone in Illinois civilly liable for partaking in doxxing, or the sharing of personal identifiable information about another person for the purpose of harming them.
The lawsuit accuses Deiters of creating the fake post, but according to her attorney, Thomas DeVore, another person shared the post with Deiters through a group message.
“It was provided to her by someone, which she accepted in good faith as an accurate picture because she doesn’t have access to Ellen’s Facebook posts,” DeVore said. “They’re not friends. … these people politically are at odds with each other.”
Despite conflicting political beliefs, DeVore said Deiters would not partake in creating a fake post with the intent to defame Moriarty.
“My client and I both acknowledge you don’t make up lies about people, especially like this,” he said. “That’s completely inappropriate.”
Bolingbrook attorney Joe Giamanco, representing Moriarty, said he does not know why Moriarty was targeted, only that it is his understanding she is politically involved and outspoken about her beliefs.
“As a private citizen, she’s involved in politics and she’s outspoken, but she’s a private individual. She’s not an elected official,” he said. “With the vitriol that goes on online these days, I think that they just decided to target her.”
The lawsuit alleges Deiters has “shown an open and public hostility towards (Moriarty) through various social media posts” for an extended period of time.
The initial Facebook post, published by Deiters July 23, which contained the alleged purported screenshot of Moriarty’s account, claimed Moriarty is Pennywise from the Will County Clown Car Facebook group, which tracks and mocks “right-wing extremism, misinformation and propaganda” in the county, according to a description on the group’s page.
As a result of the post, Giamanco said it is his understanding that multiple people reached out to the clerk’s office with the intent to get Moriarty fired.
Giamanco said he does not know how many people reached out to Moriarty’s employer, but he has filed a subpoena with the clerk’s office to obtain detailed information on the number and nature of the complaints received.
According to the lawsuit, the clerk’s office opened an investigation into the post and Moriarty’s alleged conduct.
The lawsuit alleges that as a result of the post, Moriarty has had to adjust her behavior and communication due to safety concerns, and has suffered from sleep loss and stress over her safety, her family’s safety and job security. She has become more aware of her surroundings and taken additional measures to protect herself and her family from potential violence, the lawsuit states.
Giamanco said the state’s doxxing act is relatively new, and many people might not be aware it exists.
“People are used to doing this kind of thing and not thinking twice about it,” Giamanco said.
DeVore said he does not believer Deiters is guilty of doxxing or defamation for sharing the post.
“The most she did was share a document that was fabricated,” he said. “I think that’s the most she’s done, which is not doxxing, it’s not defamation … by just merely sharing something that turned out to be inaccurate. I believe that’s all at the most my client’s guilty of.”
Moriarty is seeking more $75,000 for the alleged doxxing violation, and in excess of $75,000 for claims of defamation by Deiters.
DeVore is investigating whether the post attributed to Moriarty’s Facebook account is fake. Once that is confirmed, he and Giamanco will turn their attention to tracing the post’s origin, he said.
“I’m damn well going to find out who fabricated it, if it’s fabricated, and I’m going to help Joe and Ellen turn their eyes toward the person that created the fake account, if it’s in fact fake,” DeVore said.
The first court date is on Nov. 27 at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com