Trans pilot sues right-wing influencer who wrongly blamed her...

[Jessica_Rose]

Trans pilot sues right-wing influencer who wrongly blamed her for lethal DC air collision

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/04/trans-pilot-sues-right-wing-influencer-who-wrongly-blamed-her-for-lethal-dc-air-collision/

By Daniel Villarreal (9 April 2025)

Jo Ellis, a transgender woman who was wrongfully identified as the pilot involved in the January 29 Washington DC helicopter collision that ended the lives of 67 people, is suing Matthew Wallace, a social media user who allegedly blamed her for the crash.

Ellis has filed her lawsuit in a Colorado federal court and is represented by the Equality Legal Action Fund, an advocacy organization that defends wrongly accused or harassed LGBTQ+ people. She says Wallace "concocted a destructive and irresponsible" campaign that monetized a "false narrative" to his over 2 million social media followers, The Guardian reported.

"[Ellis] was forced into the public sphere and can no longer remain a private citizen [because of Wallace]," her lawsuit states. "Given her immediate notoriety and the fact that she is a transgender woman, she fears for the immediate safety of herself and her family on account of the hate inspired against her by Defendant's lies."

The initial crash involved a Black Hawk military helicopter that collided with an American Eagle commercial airplane from Wichita, Kansas, ending the lives of everyone aboard both aircraft.

Soon after the crash, a social media user on X who goes by "FakeGayPolitics" blamed Ellis. While Ellis wasn't involved, she is a helicopter pilot with the Virginia National Guard.

By January 31, her name began trending on X, with many transphobic commenters saying she deliberately caused the crash in response to the president's executive order seeking to ban trans military members.

[Tig58072]

I hope she wins. Sue the ->-bleeped-<- outta him.

[Sephirah]

Good. This girl needs to be set for life because of the dumbassery of those above her. You can't make scapegoats without the goats biting you.