If Lowell is your home, this is your place

Folks, it’s time to draw a hard legal line before the 2027 election cycle even begins. WHY, because free political speech does not give ANY individuals a blank check to fabricate and put forth criminal labels against a sitting city councilor on social media or manipulate media narratives as was done during the past state primary in the 16th Middlesex District. In a court of law, the charges against Councilor Robinson were completely and legally dismissed. In my opinion, repeating the false and highly damaging "beater/ batterer”label or similar references online, that was done during the state rep. campaign, plus weaponizing local newspaper headlines to continuously fuel a false narrative, pushes past regular campaign spin straight toward targeted defamation. For those of you who think public officials cannot hold private citizens accountable, look at the legal precedent that was set in Chelmsford. In the landmark Massachusetts case, Van Liew v. Eliopoulos, a former town selectman successfully sued a resident who used a relentless, multi-platform smear campaign to attack his integrity, resulting in a multi-million dollar verdict after the jury rejected the defense that the allegations were protected speech. Furthermore, under the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the law dictates that public officials must meet the strict "Actual Malice" standard to win a defamation case. This means individual commenters cross a clear legal line when they know a case was legally dismissed, yet maliciously choose to keep spreading a narrative with a reckless disregard for the truth in order to destroy a professional reputation. We also see this ongoing media narrative continue to play out in real time, most recently referenced in the Lowell Sun column, "Winners take all," by Melanie Gilbert, which show and details how she has continuously,as well as some political figures, explicitly campaigned against him by keeping past, legally dismissed controversies front and center. The primary state rep. election may be over, but the 2027 council race is around the corner, and opponents are already trying to line candidates up and build a campaign out of a legally dismissed court case. I feel Councilor Robinson should absolutely explore his legal options against the specific individuals who typed and posted all those defamatory words. It’s time to let the legal system hold ALL these specific commenters responsible for the damage they have and are planning to continue to cause.