Judge tosses Louis Farrakhan’s $4.8B lawsuit against ADL over antisemitism claims

A federal judge tossed Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s $4.8 billion lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League accusing the civil rights group of falsely smearing him as an antisemite.

Farrakhan — who over the years has said Hitler was a “great” man, repeatedly claimed “Satanic” Jews control the government and Hollywood and compared Jews to termites — sued the ADL and the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Manhattan Federal Court in October, insisting the groups had harmed him and the Nation of Islam by pushing the “false narrative” that he is an antisemite.

In dismissing the suit Friday, Manhattan federal court Judge Denise Cote wrote Farrakhan had failed to provide any evidence demonstrably linking the groups’ actions and writings to injuries sustained by him or his religious organization.

Regarding Farrakhan’s claim that Morgan State University barred him from speaking at the school in 2023 due to pressure from the ADL, Cote wrote he did not prove there was “an injury fairly traceable to the ADL.”

Cote also noted in her decision the ADL’s writings on Farrakhan and his comments about the Jewish people were not defamatory because they “constitute non-actionable opinions” and that Farrakhan “has not pled actual malice.” 

The Anti-Defamation League cheered the judge’s decision on X and linked to a blog post listing a selection of Farrakhan’s “hateful and conspiratorial statements.”

“Truth is a defense and no, we will not stop calling out antisemitism wherever and whenever we see it,” the ADL wrote.