From the Report and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Zachary C. Bolitho (N.D. Fla.) yesterday in Hales v. Luthmann (the same Luthmann from the Staten Island trial by combat case):
Plaintiff Jeremy Hales operates an online business that generates revenue by posting content on social media websites …. Plaintiff has over 730,000 subscribers for his "What the Hale$" channel on YouTube and over 327,000 followers for his "What the Hale$" page on Facebook.
Defendant Richard Luthmann also maintains an online presence by, among other things, posting content on a blog. In early 2025, Defendant Luthmann allegedly sent emails about Plaintiff to the Anti-Defamation League and to people who post content on YouTube. Around the same time, Defendant Luthmann also posted a video to a blog allegedly depicting Plaintiff "as Adolf Hitler by adding a Hitler mustache to Plaintiff's photograph and engaging in oral sex with a journalist." …
[Plaintiff] alleges that Defendant Luthmann violated Florida's sexual cyberharassment statute, Fla. Stat. § 784.049…. To state a violation of § 784.049, a plaintiff must plausibly allege
- Defendant published a sexually explicit image of Plaintiff on an internet website;
- The image contained or conveyed Plaintiff's personal identification information;
- Defendant acted willfully and maliciously, for no legitimate purpose, and with the intent of causing substantial emotional distress to Plaintiff;
- Plaintiff did not consent to the publication….
The dispute was about whether the video showed a "sexually explicit image," and the court said no:
