A firebrand pastor and polemicist has been required by court to pay up $250,000 to an activist after fabricating stories about him.
A controversial pastor in Montana who is also the founder of a Christian polemics website has admitted that he published a false story about one trans activist. Jordan Hall, better known as JD Hall, is the founder of Pulpit&Pen, which was later known as Protestia. A lawsuit was brought forth against him in 2021 after he published a story about Native American activist Adrian Jawort in the Montana Daily Gazette.
Religion News Service reported that Hall called Jawort a "transvestite Goth" in the article, in which he also accused the trans activist of threatening a senator. Now, the libel lawsuit was dismissed and the two parties have come to the agreement that Jawort will be able to make a $250,000 claim against Hall, who claimed bankruptcy.
Montana Pastor Issues an Apology to Trans Activist
In a note on the Montana Daily Gazette website, Hall wrote, "I apologize to Adrian Jawort. The information I published about Adrian was false. Adrian did not threaten or harass Senator Butch Gillespie. I regret the error and sincerely apologize to Adrian for publishing it."
According to the Great Falls Tribune, the libel case brought forth by Jawort has been going on for more than a year and involved threats of mounting an attorney's head on the wall of Hall's study. The Montana pastor admitted that he fabricated the story about Jawort, a lobbyist who testified on several issues about Native Americans.
The story at issue here is one titled "Who's the Gothic Transvestite Haunting the Halls of the Montana Capitol?" which Hall had posted. In it, the Montana pastor accused Jawort of attacking Sen. Gillespie. Court records showed that Jawort reached out to the publication within hours and requested a retraction or correction about the alleged attack on the senator, overlooking other incendiary comments about her appearance pass. Hall refused, so Jawort filed a libel case.
Meanwhile, Jawort expressed that he felt "grateful that after a tumultuous year," Hall had admitted "committing libel and bearing false witness" against the trans activist. Jawort remarked that many trans people today are "targeted with political bullseyes on our backs" and that it was "especially dangerous" of Hall to "falsely accuse" her of " bullying and harassing an elderly state Senator" she had never met before, causing a sergeant at arms to "pull" her away. Jawort added, "There are people out there who'd physically hurt me if they thought that was true and then saw me to take revenge."
Also Read:Montana's Fellowship Baptist Church Won't Let Pastor JD Hall Resign Despite DUI Arrest
Pastor Faces Bankruptcy and Other Issues
The $250K settlement comes as Hall is going through the bankruptcy process and seeking protection from a libel case. The Montana pastor is also discharging attorney's fees that piled up during the case. Two weeks ago, Hall was also arrested on charges of driving under the influence and illegally carrying a concealed weapon. The conservative minister pleaded not guilty.
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