BS BULLETIN:
- Two Illinois protesters are suing conservative media personality Benny Johnson for defamation over videos from an ICE protest last year.
- The pair say Johnson falsely portrayed them as violent criminals who assaulted federal officers and called them “left-wing terrorists.”
- Both protesters were detained outside the Broadview ICE facility and later released without charges.
Two Illinois protesters who appeared in Benny Johnson’s viral videos during an ICE operation last year are taking him to federal court.
Kyle Frankovich, a Harvard data scientist, and Maureen Foody, a contract court reporter, filed a defamation lawsuit Friday accusing Johnson and his company of falsely portraying them as violent criminals who assaulted federal immigration officers during an Oct. 3, 2025 protest outside the Broadview ICE Processing Center near Chicago.
Johnson was filming at the facility while embedded with then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and then-Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino.
According to the complaint, Johnson filmed Frankovich, Foody and other protesters after they had been detained and described them as “left-wing terrorists arrested for attacking police officers and ICE officers.”
In another video, Johnson said the detained protesters had “assaulted ICE officers” as agents attempted to clear the area.
The lawsuit says that account was false and that Johnson knew it was false when he published it. Those are allegations that have not yet been tested in court.
Frankovich and Foody say they had been participating in a designated protest area outside the facility. Both were detained and later released without charges.
Frankovich’s image later appeared in ICE recruiting material showing him with his hands zip-tied behind his back, according to NPR reporting cited by public-radio affiliates covering the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs say Johnson’s videos exposed them to threats, damaged their reputations and left them fearing professional and personal consequences.
Johnson, who has millions of followers across social-media platforms, had not publicly responded to the lawsuit as of the latest reports Friday.
The plaintiffs are seeking more than $75,000 in damages, along with punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Washington Examiner — Two protesters sue Benny Johnson for ICE ride-along videos
- Mediaite — Benny Johnson sued for defamation for calling ICE protesters ‘terrorists’
- Georgia Public Broadcasting/NPR — Pro-Trump influencer Benny Johnson is being sued for defamation by ICE protesters
- Oyez — New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
