Reid Lasner, a gay Republican running for Wyoming’s only U.S. House seat, has settled a federal defamation lawsuit against an Iowa man who falsely called him a “pedophile” on social media and continues to pursue separate defamation lawsuits in state court against four Wyoming Republicans.
Mr. Lasner filed a lawsuit in March against Michael Leonard Cooley Jr., an Iowa resident, alleging that Mr. Cooley repeatedly accused him of being a “pedophile” on social media. The complaint says Cooley made “hateful and false statements” intended to harm Lasner “in his personal and professional life in Wyoming.”
Although the two did not know each other before the lawsuit, Ms. Lasner claimed that Mr. Cooley’s accusations had caused her personal, professional and political harm.
The affidavit obtained by newsweek“I reviewed multiple social media posts and news articles accusing Mr. Reed Lasner of gross sexual misconduct. Upon reading those posts and articles, I believed the authors were making truthful statements about Mr. Lasner based on verified facts and personal knowledge,” Cooley said in a statement. He then made his own social media posts repeating those claims.
“I now understand that the allegations against Mr. Lasner are false, unsupported by any facts, and made with the intent to damage his personal and professional reputation,” Cooley said in the affidavit.
At a July 2 pretrial conference, Mr. Lasner and Mr. Cooley said they had reached a settlement agreement in court. They filed papers to dismiss the case on July 10, according to court records. Terms of the settlement were not made public.
“This federal court affidavit speaks for itself. The person who repeated these claims has now stated under oath that he has never met me, had no direct knowledge of me, had no factual basis, admits that his posts were completely false, and has apologized,” Rasner said. newsweek.
Mr. Rasner, a 42-year-old financial advisor, finished second in the 2024 Republican Senate primary, receiving 24% of the vote, behind incumbent Sen. John Barrasso, according to . semaphores.
In both that campaign and his current campaign for Wyoming’s only U.S. House seat, Mr. Lasner has sought to position himself more loyal to President Trump and the MAGA movement than his Republican rivals. He is running to replace U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, who is seeking the Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis.
In 2025, Lasner attracted national attention with his $47.45 billion prize. bid It reportedly intends to take control of TikTok and establish the social media platform’s U.S. headquarters in Wyoming. he said. semaphores Rumors alleging sexual misconduct spread after his candidacy, damaging both his reputation and his congressional campaign.
As other LGBTQ news outlets have noted, Rasner called gender-affirming care a form of “child abuse.” said Parents who allow their children to receive it should forfeit their parental rights. Now he finds himself targeted by some conservatives because of his sexual orientation.
The paper said that in a May poll conducted by Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s campaign, respondents were told that Rasner “married a gay husband in New York.” cowboy state daily. (Mr. Lasner married a New York man in 2012, according to court records, but the couple divorced in 2020.) Polls showed Mr. Lasner had a single-digit lead over Mr. Gray, but lost support after voters were informed about his sexual orientation.
Mr. Lasner said: semaphores He was disappointed in the poll results and said he would only pursue defamation claims against posts alleging he was a “pedophile” or engaged in sexual misconduct, including claims he said in an affidavit that inspired Cooley to make similar accusations.
Rasner also said he was removed from some candidate forums after the rumors started circulating, including one hosted by the Wyoming Family Alliance, a social conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights. However, a representative of the group said: semaphores Mr. Lasner was excluded because forum organizers deemed him to be overly litigious.
Although the lawsuit against Cooley was settled, Lasner continues to pursue defamation lawsuits against four others: former state Sen. Austin “Kit” Jennings (R-Casper), former state Sen. Anthony Bouchard (R-Antelope Meadows), Bur Nunn Town Councilman Dan Sabrosky, and Sabrosky’s ex-wife Michelle St. Louis.
In these lawsuits, Mr. Lasner alleges that the defendants spread, or collaborated with others to spread, false claims of sexual misconduct that damaged his professional reputation and his work in Congress. The defendants have largely disputed the allegations, arguing that their statements were protected speech or legally privileged, and others have denied participating in any organized campaign against Rasner, the newspaper said. cowboy state daily.
Ross Heminger, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, which supports Mr. Lasner, praised the candidate for filing the defamation suit.
“I give a lot of credit to Reid for standing up and actually taking action to stop this…. [T]This is the kind of argument that if you don’t push back, others will grab it and run away,” Heminger said. newsweek. He said the pedophilia claims were “disgusting” because they evoked “metaphors and stereotypes about homosexuals that are obviously very false and wrong.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
