06/25/2013 // West Palm Beach , Florida, US // JusticeNewsFlash // Justice News Flash // (press release)

Washington – A federal appeals court has stated Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod can proceed with a defamation case against a blogger. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the appeals court upheld a district court decision to reject a motion to dismiss the case made by Larry O’Connor, a colleague of the late blogger Andrew Breitbart. O’Connor claims it violates his freedom of speech rights.

Sherrod filed the case against O’Connor, Breitbart, and another defendant who has not been named, after being ousted from her then job over an edited video that was posted by Breitbart and sparked racial controversy. An unedited version of the video was subsequently released, leading to Sherrod being offered a public apology.

The defamation case is stated to be a test of the anti-SLAPP statute in the District of Columbia which is aimed at preventing the silencing of critics through lawsuits.

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