Cartoonist Ben Garrison Remains Newsworthy

As we reported yesterday a months old Ben Garrison cartoon recently brought the cartoonist into the spotlight when White House aide Dan Scavino used the political cartoon in a concerted effort by the White House to undermine public confidence in Dr. Anthony Fauci.

That has resulted in some media outlets profiling Ben, like The Daily Mail:

The cartoonist who mocked Dr. Anthony Fauci as ‘Dr. Faucet’ has a history of controversial drawings that showed support for conspiracy theories and invoked charges of anti-Semitism.

Ben Garrison’s cartoons became so controversial that he was banned from attending the White House’s summit on social media in July of last year. 

That last action has become part of a lawsuit the cartoonist has filed.. As reported by liberal websites the Daily Beast and Raw Story, the “Trump loving cartoonist” is suing the Anti-Defamation League for defamation.

Raw Story:

Ben Garrison, a Trump-loving conservative political cartoonist, has filed a lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League for labeling some of his work as anti-Semitic.

However, Garrison’s lawsuit tries to disprove charges of anti-Semitism by relying on several anti-Semitic conspiracy theories involving George Soros and the Rothschild family, whom neo-Nazis and other anti-Semites falsely believe control world governments.

The Daily Beast:

Garrison alleges in his suit that when the famed Jewish non-governmental organization called one of his cartoons about wealthy Democratic financier George Soros anti-Semitic, it cost him  “embarrassment, humiliation, mental suffering, anguish, injury to his name and professional reputation,” as well as an invitation to a Trump White House event. 

The suit revolves around a couple of Ben’s cartoons. One from 2017:

The cartoonist alleges that the ADL falsely labeled Garrison as anti-Semitic based on the above cartoon.

From The Daily Beast:

Garrison’s suit doesn’t just allege reputational damage, it also defends the cartoon on the merits. In one portion of the lawsuit, Garrison claims that the ADL had to have known that McMaster actually was under the sway of Soros, and that Soros therefore owed his loyalty to the Rothschilds—the exact situation laid out in the cartoon.

“Prior to publication of the ADL Article, ADL knew that the Rothschilds controlled Soros and that Soros controlled McMaster,” the lawsuit reads.

Also at issue is a doctored cartoon that Ben accuses the ADL of altering:


above: original cartoon on left; altered cartoon on right

Ben maintains that the faked cartoon has remained on the ADL website and third-party websites.

More from The Daily Beast article:

To prove actual malice, Garrison’s lawsuit also alleges that the ADL posted a separate Garrison cartoon that was doctored to make it anti-Semitic, replacing Garrison’s drawing of then-Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke with an anti-Semitic cartoon. In 2019, the ADL added a note to its article noting that the unedited version of Garrison’s cartoon “originally had no anti-Semitic intent.”

[Sidebar: Another altered Ben Garrison cartoon is making news in India.]

Furthermore Garrison accuses the ADL of making “numerous other false and defamatory statements” about him.

The summation:

CONCLUSION AND REQUEST FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Ben Garrison, respectfully requests the Court to enter Judgment against ADL as follows:
A. Compensatory damages in the amount of $10,000,000.00 or such greater amount as is determined by the Jury;
B. Punitive damages in the amount of $350,000.00 or the maximum amount allowed by law;
C. Prejudgment interest from July 10, 2019 until the date Judgment is entered at the maximum rate allowed by law;
D. Postjudgment interest at the maximum rate allowed by law;
E. Costs and such other relief as is just and proper.
TRIAL BY JURY IS DEMANDED DATED: July 10, 2020

The Ben Garrison v. Anti-Defamation League complaint can be read in full.

 

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