Press Release: Lawsuit alleges Idaho lawmaker, far-right activists targeted and harrassed Idaho Conservatives founder Gregory Graf

The following press release was sent out by Gregory Graf. Note: Press releases sent out by individuals do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch. One of the individuals Graf mentions in the press release and is named in Graf’s counter-suit is Idaho Dispatch Editor Greg Pruett.

IDAHO FALLS — Idaho Conservatives co-founder Gregory Graf has filed a motion for leave to pursue a lawsuit against Rep. Chad Christensen (R-District 32) and his associates, including Dustin Hurst of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Greg Pruett, who runs Idaho Dispatch and Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, and Christensen’s employer, for defamation, civil conspiracy, fraudulent activity and targeted harassment, including at Graf’s former place of employment.

The lawsuit alleges that after a series of targeted harassment, involving far-right militia groups and including doxxing of Graf and his family, Christensen facilitated an elaborate scheme in late 2020, that lured Graf into a recorded phone call, followed by a coordinated media attack against him. The years-long campaign to try and cancel Graf’s ability to provide for his family follows the same pattern of abusive behavior directed towards Idaho private citizens like Graf and elected republicans who did not follow a certain strict ideology.

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“The far-right has been using a playbook of targeted harassment and threats against their political opponents for years, and Idahoans are just now starting to catch on,” said Graf. “It is my hope that my experience will wake Idahoans up. The current wave of public officials leaving office due to threats is not a coincidence, as this lawsuit demonstrates. It’s intentional.” 

The suit was filed in the seventh judicial district court in Bonneville County, Case No. CV10-21-1197.

Idaho Conservatives is an online forum that embraces traditional Idaho Republican values and publishes research and reporting on far-right and extremist attempts to take over the Idaho Republican Party, including the disgraceful tactics of the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

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In 2020, Christensen, a sitting Idaho legislator, conspired to record Graf providing information obtained through his political opposition research to Christensen’s employer after she asked Graf for such information under false pretenses. Portions of this recording were then published on a far-right Idaho website run by Pruett and used to defame and cause harm to Graf’s reputation.

Hurst, a staff member at the Idaho Freedom Foundation, assisted in writing several blog posts targeting Graf including false and defamatory information that Pruett published in an attempt to tarnish Graf’s reputation and interfere with his ability to make a living.

The motion, which seeks leave to add counterclaims in the suit that Christensen filed almost a year ago,  alleges five counts including civil conspiracy, fraud, defamation, intentional interference with Graf’s contract with his employer, and tortious interference with Graf’s employment as well as his affiliation with Idaho Conservatives.

Link to the full complaint: https://www.scribd.com/document/563879229/Gregory-Graf-AMENDED-ANSWER-COUNTERCLAIM-THIRD-PARTY-COMPLAINT-JURY-DEMAND

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