On Tuesday, Judge Edward T. Wahl dismissed the defamation lawsuit filed by Katie Blackwell—the Assistant Chief of Operations for the Minneapolis Police Department—against Alpha News, senior reporter Liz Collin, director Dr. JC Chaix, and others.
In filing the lawsuit, Blackwell and her attorneys labelled Alpha News and the other defendants as “extremists.” They claimed that “this lawsuit involves the politically motivated attack on a respected member of the Minneapolis Police Department who was maliciously defamed with respect to her performance of the duties of her employment and profession by extremists who are more interested in shaping a narrative and provoking outrage than in communicating any version of truth.”
Blackwell alleged that she was defamed by Collin’s book, “They’re Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd.” Blackwell also claimed that she was defamed in the documentary film “The Fall of Minneapolis,” which was presented by Alpha News, produced by Collin, and written and directed by Dr. Chaix.
Judge Wahl’s dismissal, however, affirms that Alpha News and the co-defendants did not defame Blackwell.
“After careful consideration, the Court dismisses Blackwell’s defamation claims for the reasons stated in detail in the following opinion. Some of the claims are time-barred under Minnesota’s applicable statute of limitations. In addition, as explained below, none of the statements Blackwell challenges are defamatory as a matter of law, given the well-established caselaw assessing commentary by media figures on matters of high public interest involving limited-purpose public figures. In her role as a key government witness in a high-profile prosecution, Blackwell assumed the status of a limited-purpose public figure under longstanding First Amendment jurisprudence,” Judge Wahl wrote.
The dismissal also lends support to defense attorney Chris Madel’s prior legal assessment of Blackwell’s allegations. In response to Blackwell’s initial filing of the lawsuit in October 2024, Madel flatly stated, “The lawsuit is garbage. Garbage belongs in the trash.”
Madel represented Alpha News, Collin, Chaix, and the other defendants in this case.
Upon reading Judge Wahl’s dismissal, Madel said, “Today is a complete vindication for Liz Collin, Dr. Chaix, and Alpha News—and a complete victory for the First Amendment.”
In January, Madel filed a 113-page motion (with 592 footnotes) to have Blackwell’s lawsuit dismissed with prejudice following Minnesota’s recently passed Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA). As an anti-SLAPP law, UPEPA was designed to protect people against legal actions aimed at burdening critics with court proceedings and stifling free speech.
Notably, the motion that Madel filed included affidavits from two Minnesota state legislators—who helped enact Minnesota’s UPEPA legislation.
Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, and State Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, provided affidavits explaining how UPEPA was passed specifically to protect works such as Collin’s book and film.
Rep. Niska explained that, “The Defendants’ speech referenced in the Complaint and included in the book They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and the Death of George Floyd and the movie The Fall of Minneapolis is exactly the type of speech the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act was meant to protect.”
Rep. Niska also said that the purpose of UPEPA was to “protect the right to speak freely on issues of public interest and concern, especially for journalists and nonprofits.”
In standing up for the truth, 33 former and current Minneapolis police officers came forward to speak out on behalf of Alpha News and Collin. Fourteen of these officers provided sworn affidavits and stated that they believe Blackwell “perjured herself” during former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s criminal trial.
Throughout the case, Police Chief Brian O’Hara has offered support for Blackwell, who serves as the chief of operations for the department. Chief O’Hara spoke with Minnesota’s mainstream media about Blackwell’s lawsuit and published a commentary in the Star Tribune defending her.
“Yet, despite the overwhelming consensus within MPD leadership and law enforcement experts, some conservative media outlets are now attempting to discredit Blackwell by pushing a revisionist narrative,” he wrote.
As a long-established Minnesota news reporter, Collin responded to O’Hara’s commentary and Judge Wahl’s dismissal, stating, “For me, reporting the news has always been about getting the facts and speaking the truth. I think the judge’s dismissal of Katie Blackwell’s lawsuit says a lot. For one thing, it echoes what I’ve been saying all along about how the mainstream media and so-called leaders have handled the arrest and death of George Floyd: they’re lying.”
