Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Steve Chapman vs Black Velvet Bruce Lee

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by

James A. Bacon
in

The Manassas Journal-Messenger has an odd, somewhat worrisome, story about a lawsuit filed by would-be GOP House of Delegates candidate Steve Chapman against the blogger who goes by the name Black Velvet Bruce Lee.

Chapman’s spokesman, Faisal Gill, is blaming a lawsuit against the blogger for distracting Chapman from filing in time to run as the GOP candidate for the 50th House district in Manassas, where he had garnered 45 percent of the vote last fall in his race against incumbent Harry Parrish, now deceased.

If Chapman’s campaign team failed to meet the filing deadline, Chapman has every reason to be irked — at his campaign team. But that’s an issue between them.

Of greater concern is the behavior of Black Velvet Bruce Lee. The Chapman campaign accuses the pseudonymous blogger of making numerous defamatory comments — charging that Chapman dropped out of high school, lied about his pressure-washing business having contracts with Arlington National Cemetery, that sort of thing — that Chapman’s people insist are untrue. At some point — the article isn’t clear — either Chapman or the campaign filed suit against the blogger.

But Black Velvet Bruce Lee melted into cyberspace. Says the Journal Messenger:

Recently, Black Velvet Bruce Lee took the blog Web site down, eliminating all of the former Web postings. He also discontinued his e-mail address and essentially disappeared into cyberspace. “Either he feels like he accomplished his mission and he took the site down. Or he’s afraid of the lawsuit and doesn’t want the evidence to be out there, so he got rid of the evidence,” Chapman said.

While Black Velvet Bruce Lee may be gone, one of his compatriots, Manassas resident Greg Letiecq, has resurrected the blog. Letieq says Chapman’s lawsuit is baseless.

I have know idea who is telling the truth, and I have no interest in sorting through the claims and counter-claims. That’s a job for the courts. What’s disturbing is that a blogger can create a visible public forum, make accusations and then evade legal accountability for those accusations. This kind of behavior could lead to punitive legislation against the blogosphere.

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Comments

9 responses to “Steve Chapman vs Black Velvet Bruce Lee”

  1. Big Kahuna Avatar
    Big Kahuna

    It’s disturbing that someone would make a hit-and-run web attack like that, but I have mixed overall opinions. Our current world environment makes it very difficult for people to speak out against injustice – or even have an opinion – without risking lawsuits, recriminations, or harassment. People lose their jobs over doing the right thing, drown under lawsuits for speaking their mind, and generally have to repress their rights to an opinion due to fear. As the Golden Rule states, “He who has the most gold, makes the rules.”

    The Web allows people – to a certain extent – to once again exert their right to free speech.

    My hope is that the Internet, the last untamed Wild West (except for all the other ones still out there; I liked the expression), will still allow for such freedoms. It may be the only place that can possibly change on the fly to keep up with a culture that talks about freedom while doing all they can to regulate and restrict it.

    Thanks for coming, and don’t forget to tip your waitress.

  2. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    Big Kahuna, I agree with you — that’s why it’s all the more imperative that bloggers exercise basic self discipline — don’t defame people — so as not to invite legislative retribution and screw it up for the overwhelming number of decent bloggers.

  3. Jeremy Hinton Avatar
    Jeremy Hinton

    “Either he feels like he accomplished his mission and he took the site down. Or he’s afraid of the lawsuit and doesn’t want the evidence to be out there, so he got rid of the evidence,” Chapman said.

    While possible that the blogger in question did everything from an untraceable account, its more likely that his “anonymity” can easily be penetrated, once legal grounds are established. Most access and hosting providers have information that can be easliy used to backtrace actions to individuals. All it takes is a few subpaoena/court orders to get the required info (from experience). This is not always the case, but more often then not.

    As this issue looks to be pursued on a legal level, i would be quite surprised if steve’s suit was not able to unearth a flesh-and-blood defendant. Standard libel/defamation laws would apply, i dont see any reason for new legislation.

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I completely agree with your analysis. The slander/libel tort was developed in common law centuries ago for a reason. Inasmuch as damage to a person’s reputation is permanent, the law needs to make sure that it is not done falsely and maliciously. If you are going to publish something negative about a person, then you had better make sure it is accurate. Bloggers are the new journalists, and they need to be held responsible for their statements.

  5. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Your calls for professionalism in the blogosphere are noble but Chapman needs to get over it. Give me a break.

    Look at all the negative attack ads that are run by campaigns against one another. Do you think John Kerry could sue the folks who made the Swift Boat ads for libel or defamation? The answer is likely “no” for several reasons. First, he’s a public figure. Second, the ad creators had sources for their info. Third, Chapman must prove he was injured by what was written. This is almost impossible to do in a court of law.

    And, if I am not mistaken, there is like a 3 or 4 part test that courts use to determine if someone was libeled, etc. You must meet all 3 or 4 parts of the test to win your case, not 1 or 2 of them. This is why it’s so hard to actually win these cases. Almost everyone who has something bad written about them can meet 1 or 2 parts, but rarely meet all 4.

    Chapman’s case is baseless because he’s a public figure (he’s already been on the ballot once) and they fall into a whole different category when it comes to libel/defamation. Second, if they ever find this Black Velvet Bruce Lee figure, all he/she would have to do is site a source for their coments and all is clear. Furthermore, under the law, Black Velvet Bruce Lee is allowed to protect his/her sources. So, Chapman is in a Catch-22 in regards to the second point against BVBL.

    What candidate doesn’t know there is a filing deadline?

    If they find BVBL, and I was his lawyer, I would simply ask, why isn’t Chapman suing the people who were at the fundraiser the night before the deadline? They are just as culpible for him missing the deadline as BVBL.

  6. Mitch Cumstein Avatar
    Mitch Cumstein

    Please keep in mind that Black Velvet Bruce Lee did not engage in what my father frequently refers to as “making s@%! up.” He did some serious investigating. He had sources. He contacted Arlington Cemetery about the contract. And, he offered Chapman the opportunity to set the record straight and was willing to make retractions where his evidence was proven incorrect.

    I’ve never met BVBL, but I understand exactly where he’s coming from. The issue here is that a growing number of people who know Chapman (and I do) feel that he isn’t worthy of representing the people of Virginia. BVBL’s website mentioned only a few of the issues. And these weren’t simple opinions. They were facts based on information collected from multiple sources.

    I wish that BVBL hadn’t vanished. And, undoubtedly, there are those who will erroneuosly take his departure as an admission of guilt. That’s unfortunate, because his message was important, one that has few if any alternative sources of distribution. If there is a lesson to be learned from this, it is that would-be public servants should make sure that their house is in order and that their credentials are accurate and consistent prior to running for office.

  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Mitch,

    I couldn’t argree with you more! I’ll bet BVBL went underground for several reasons, but I don’t think he was afraid. You are also correct that he did document his stories well and did offer Chapman a chance to clarify things on numerous occasions.

  8. The Emperor of the Moon Avatar
    The Emperor of the Moon

    I don’t find it frightening that a blogger can make such accusations. After all, such people are not credible.

    Chapman overreacted. Such a furious response shows fear, only adding validity to Black Velvet’s claims. After all, if Chapman had ignored the man, there would have been no lawsuit and no article in the Journal Messenger. I, who personally does not like Chapman’s stances, would have never been aware of the existence of Black Velvet.

    In essence, Chapman made the situation worse. Black Velvet was not credible in anyway and was no danger to Chapman’s campaign. By attempting a first strike, he’s reflected to himself a greater blow.

  9. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Chapman is a punk. No one reads those blogs, but yet Chapman publicizes them. I do not know whether the stuff is true or not, my source for believing it is the blog and Chapman has proven he is a punk not worthy of being elected to the legislature by raising money for an election and then missing the deadline. What a no gud punk. BVBL must have been right with some of stuff, but even if the allegations were false, the spirit of what he said was correct. Chapman is nothing but a punk and he did this tew hemself by running fer office.

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