As Ben Brody continued to be targeted by online conspiracy theorists, he filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk for supposedly fanning the flames via X.
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Who is Ben Brody and what happened to him?
Ben Brody is a political science graduate who attended the University of California, Riverside.
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Brody also aspires to work in government.
He was raised Jewish and is an alum of his college fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi.
Brody was also the target of online accusations that wrongfully pinpointed him as a member of the Neo-Nazi extremist group, the Rose City Nationalists.
On June 24, 2023, the Rose City Nationalists were involved in a physical confrontation with the Proud Boys at an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Portland, Oregon.
As the two groups assaulted one another, one of the assailants was unmasked.
Although online sleuths noticed the unmasked assailant looked similar to Brody, the theories have since been debunked.
On the day of the brawl, the UCR graduate was proven to be in Riverside, California; where he has since relocated.
Nonetheless, Brody received several threats and warnings from conspiracy theorists on social media.
He says the threatening messages got so out of hand that he and his mother had to move from their then-home.
While telling his side of the story to CNN, Brody recalled: "They said, 'Oh, this person looks like him. It has to be this person, there's no way it's not him.'
"It was an assumption that went wrong. What was really scary was that these people were calling and threatening to tell my school.
"I was scared that I wasn't going to graduate. I was terrified."
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Why did Brody file a lawsuit against Elon Musk?
On October 2, 2023, Brody filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against Elon Musk for the latter's earlier comments in reference to the abovementioned incident.
On June 27 of the same year, Musk joined in on the speculation that the unmasked brawler at the Oregon Pride event was Brody.
On the platform formerly known as Twitter, the SpaceX founder told his X followers: "Very odd. Always remove their masks.
"Looks like one is a college student (who wants to join the govt) and another is maybe an Antifa member, but nonetheless a probable false flag situation."
Regarding the lawsuit, Brody told the previously-mentioned outlet: "It’s not about vengeance. I’m not angry.
"It’s not resentment. I just want to make things right, to get an apology, so that this doesn’t happen again to anyone else.
"I knew that this was snowballing, but once Elon Musk commented, I was like, 'boom, that’s the final nail in the coffin.'"
In response to the lawsuit, Musk's legal team said in a statement: "We expect this case to be dismissed."
Who is Brody's attorney, Mark Bankston?
Representing Brody is Mark Bankston; a Houston, Texas-based attorney associated with Farrar & Ball, LLP.
Previously, Bankston is known for his role in the Alex Jones trial.
He helped represent the parents of the Sandy Hook Elementary victims.
At the trial's conclusion, Jones was ordered to pay the Sandy Hook parents over $1 billion in damages.
In reference to his client Ben Brody, Bankston told the press via X: "Today, I am proud to announce I have filed suit against yet another notorious disseminator of false information...The owner of this platform, Elon Musk.
"This new lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ben Brody, a 22-year-old recent college graduate who has been forced to take action due to Musk’s astonishingly reckless conduct here on Twitter.
"In the weeks following Musk’s statements, it was apparent to Ben that his reputation had been catastrophically damaged and that a huge number of people believed he was either a neo-Nazi or a provocateur in a 'psyop' to commit political terrorism on American soil."
He added: "Even apart from the damage to his reputation, Ben and his family were put through weeks of terror due to Musk’s recklessness, and now Ben finds himself depressed, freaked out, and mentally distraught at the crucial moment when he exits college and enters his career path.
"In response, Musk refuses to issue a retraction, declined to apologize, and will not engage in any discussion whatsoever about Ben’s defamation claim.
"In fact, Musk’s attorney indicated Musk will seek to shift fees if Ben attempts a lawsuit.
"Ben is undeterred. He understands that a lawsuit is the only way he will be able to truly clear his name or change Musk’s behavior.
"He is unbelievably brave to take on this challenge."