A man who was convicted for threatening a follow-up attack after the Capitol Hill insurrection, and suggested bringing enough people and weapons to overcome any "standing army or police agency," is now suing right-wing social network Parler for banning him for those very threats.
Troy Smocks is suing Parler, which was recently shut down after it was sold, leaving former employees to plot their own new platform, for $370 million, according to a Gizmodo report.
"Troy Smocks was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison and banned from the now-dormant social network Parler after he made violent threats on the app in the wake of the January 6th riots. Now Smocks is suing Parler for $370 million, accusing the company of violating a controversial Texas law which bars social media platforms from censoring users for their political beliefs," reported Gizmodo. "Smocks’ Parler posts advocated for the insurrection on January 6th, 2021, and he rallied for more violence the next day. 'Over the next 24 hours, I would say lets get our personal affairs in order. Prepare our weapons, and then go get’em,' Smocks wrote on Parler from a Washington, DC hotel on January 7th. 'Lets hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are. This includes RINOS, Dems, and Tech Execs. We now have the green light,' he said."
Smocks would later plead guilty to making interstate threats. Yet his lawsuit says he was banned from Parler for supporting former president Trump.
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"But the lawsuit accuses Parler of banning Smocks 'solely because of Plaintiff’s selection and vote casting for a political candidate, then United States President Donald J. Trump.' The complaint makes no mention of the 59-year old’s criminal calls for violence," according to the report. "The lawsuit, spotted in the newsletter Court Watch, names as defendants Parler, its former CEO John Matze, and Rebekah Mercer, the billionaire right-wing philanthropist who secretly funded the company in its early days."
For his part, Matze told Gizmodo he thinks Smocks "is having trouble accepting his own life choices and is looking to put the blame on others."
