Former Fox News commenter Gavin McInnes launched a lawsuit against the town of Rutherford, New Jersey and two of its government officials following what he claims was a pressure campaign to shut down his ticketed comedy show.
McInnes, founder of The Proud Boys and Vice, attempted to hold a comedy show in the Borough of Rutherford on November 10, 2022. Antifa activists ultimately posted details about the event publicly, as often happens when McInnes holds public events, which allegedly prompted local authorities to pressure the owner of the venue to cancel McInnes’ event.
In an episode of his “Get Off My Lawn” podcast on the Censored.tv network, McInnes played audio recordings he made of phone calls with the venue owner. In those calls, the owner revealed that his decision to cancel the event was prompted by multiple phone calls he received Rutherford Police Chief John Russo.
Russo, according to McInnes and the small businessman, purportedly told the venue owner that he would be legally and financially liable for any damages or casualties sustained during a hypothetical Antifa riot, should one be provoked by McInnes’ comedy show.
A video McInnes posted to Telegram seems to suggest no protesters had assembled for the event.
On the same episode, McInnes played a recording of a phone call he made to Russo, who disputed the series of events McInnes received from the event venue’s owner.
In a separate post written last week, McInnes revealed his lawsuit against the city, its Mayor, and its Chief of Police, the latter in their personal capacities.
“I said I was going to sue Rutherford NJ for having law enforcement shut down my show,” wrote McInnes, “and I’m suing Rutherford NJ for having law enforcement shut down my show.”
The first page of the lawsuit, posted to Telegram by McInnes, contains the line: “In the Borough of Rutherford, New Jersey, the police decide what jokes are allowed in public places.”
Of note, McInnes retained respected conservative pundit Ron Coleman for the suit. Coleman works for the Dhillon Law Group, founded by rising Republican Party star Harmeet Dhillon, who is challenging Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel for the party’s leadership.
McInnes also retained Jonathan Gross, who describes himself as a First Amendment Civil Rights Attorney, for the lawsuit.
When he announced his intention to sue, McInnes declared that “Antifa is making me money” by canceling his events.
“I talked to lawyers about this, I am suing them. So Antifa is making me money,” said McInnes on the November 14 episode of his podcast. He added, “It’s definitely more profitable than doing a 20 minute comedy show.”
