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Bruce Pettway, a business owner and the brother of Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway, is suing the chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party and 1819 News over claims of defamation. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, came “in response to several years of needless, malicious, and unwarranted misinformation designed solely to destroy Mr. Pettway’s reputation by the State of Alabama’s Republican Party,” according to a press release shared by Pettway’s lawyers.
In early 2019, Alabama’s Attorney General, Steve Marshall, seized $240,000 from Pettway’s business accounts amidst allegations that Pettway was receiving proceeds from an “illegal gambling scheme.” A federal judge later released the money back to Pettway after finding sufficient evidence that Marshall’s actions were politically motivated.
The federal court specifically found that Marshall’s actions “were all with the intent to harass [Pettway] and were all in bad faith.”
However, according to the lawsuit, Jefferson County Republican Party chair Christopher Brown continued to claim that Pettway was involved in a criminal gambling scheme after the court had already cleared Pettway of any wrongdoing. In a March interview with “Alabama’s Morning News with JT,” Brown stated that Pettway had helped his brother, Sherrif Mark Petway, manage “illegal gambling operations” in Jefferson County.
Pettway’s lawyers claim that the accusations are not only false, but also “made to tarnish Bruce Pettway’s character and reputation that he has spent decades cultivating.” Pettway is also looking to hold 1819 News liable for printing and republishing Brown’s statements.
The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants are “Republican Party operatives’ intent upon discrediting and maligning [Pettway’s] brother, Sheriff Mark Pettway.”
Mark Pettway was first elected Sheriff on November 6, 2018, making him Jefferson County’s first ever elected Black Sheriff. Sheriff Pettway went on to win reelection in 2022 and continues to serve Jefferson County today. According to the Sheriff’s Office website, “Sheriff Pettway has made improving mental healthcare in the County a key part of his administration” by making additional mental health and addiction resources available for Jefferson County inmates. He also instituted the “Books Not Bullets” program, which partners deputies with the American Federation of Teachers to “distribute books while on patrol in communities across Jefferson County.”
The lawsuit also claims that Brown and 1819 News “were undoubtedly aware of the District Court’s findings in light of the fact that both are intimately involved in Republican politics, and Defendant Brown is the chief strategist and chairperson of the Jefferson County Republican Party.”
It goes on to state that both Brown and 1819 News were originally served with cease-and-desist letters “demanding a retraction of the defamatory statements.” According to Pettway’s lawyers, 1819 News never responded to the cease-and-desist, while Brown “admitted that his statements were false and that he had ‘no knowledge or evidence that Mr. Bruce Pettway is a ‘Manager’ of any unlawful gambling operations in Jefferson County.'”
Under Alabama law, a plaintiff suing for defamation must show that the defendant was at least negligent in publishing a false and defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff. Depending on the nature of the defamation, the plaintiff may have to prove that material harm was done, but Pettway’s lawyers claim that in this case no such proof is necessary. According to the suit, the defendants’ statements falsely accused Pettway of committing a crime, which would entitle the plaintiff to “presumed damages without the need to prove actual harm to reputation or any other damage.”
Pettway is seeking compensation for damages attributed to the alleged defamation, coverage of the suit’s legal fees and expenses, and punitive damages for Brown and 1819 News’s “malicious conduct.”
